Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, October 26 2009:
A team of Imphal West district police commandos recovered an illegally hidden Self Loading Rifle (SLR) from the residence of a minister of the present government on the intervening night of October 25 and October 26 .
According to a reliable source, the rifle, without its butt, was found tightly covered in a hockey stick cover in the computer room of the minister.
The recovered weapon is said to be unusable condition.
The source said, the arm was recovered by the Imphal West district police commandos based on an interrogation to two PLA cadres who were apprehended by the IW police commandos yesterday.
The two apprehended PLA cadres have been identified as Sagolsem Oken (25) and his younger brother S Ojit @ Gandhi (22) of Khurai Thangjam Leikai.
Oken was said to have served Minister as his driver.
He was then said to have established contact with a PLA activist.
The Imphal West district police began to probe him after tapping his telephonic conversation with the PLA activist.
Based on the taped mobile phone conversation, the two brothers were nabbed by the IW district police commandos, the source revealed.
It said, on receiving that th two brothers will appear in the medical check-up for recruitment of Manipur police at the headquarters of 4th and 5th IRB located at Koirengei, a team of the police commandos followed them and tracked them through their mobile phones.
Police are also said to have recorded their telephonic conversation with the PLA activist telling him 'We are successful.' What is more startling is that the two brothers are said to have revealed that around 30 persons like them were being selected in the police recruitment, the source added.
However, when contacted, the Imphal West district police authority refused to divulge the matter and refused to tell from which minister's residence the weapon was recovered.
Another source said, the recovery was made at the residence of a senior Minister.
It however, ruled out the possibility of the knowledge of the minister concerned about the presence of unlicensed gun in his house.
When this newspaper tried to confirm the matter with the Minister, he denied that any weapon has been recovered from his residence.
He said, other newspapers have also already asked him about the matter.
He said, it was just an attempt to tarnish his image.