Patna: The National Investigation Agency [NIA] has arrested a key accused Manjoor Khan alias Babu Bhai in connection with a case involving recovery of an AK-47 rifle and ammunition from a village in Muzaffarpur district in 2024.
According to NIA, the accused Manjoor was a close aide of another prime accused in the case Vikash Kumar who was actively involved in smuggling of prohibited core sophisticated weapons, including AK-47 rifles, from Nagaland to Bihar.
The agency’s investigation into the case has further revealed that Manjoor along with other co-accused had conspired to smuggle prohibited weapons with the intent to disrupt public peace and safety.
NIA took over the case from local police who originally booked the accused under the provisions of Arms Act after the recovery of the weapon from Mankoni village under the jurisdiction of Fakuli police station limits.
Earlier on August 21, the sleuths of NIA raided multiple locations in North Bihar in connection with the case.
As per the details, the rifle recovered from Mankoni village last year was supplied by one Ahmed Ansari who runs a garage in Dimapur of Nagaland. Ansari allegedly smuggled the rifle from Myanmar route.
Investigation into the matter further revealed that two of the men namely Satyam Kumar, a resident of Vaishali and his cousin Vikas Kumar were linked with Ansari.
NIA’s investigation into the matter further revealed that another individual Devmani Rai alias Anish was also connected with Ansari via Satyam and his brother Vikas.
The investigating agencies suspect the accused individuals for running an illegal arm supply network spanning to multiple towns.
As per media reports, the accused involved in the illegal arm syndicate have allegedly supplied the rifles to other notorious criminals in nearby district and outside.
The NIA had earlier raided premises of one of the accused Devmuni, recovering cash around 11 lakhs. The agency has also managed to trace the bank account transactions done for alleged procurement of rifles by another accused Vikas.
NIA after taking over the probe had already filed a supplementary chargsheet against Ahmad Ansari, Satyam Kumar, Devmuni Rai and Vikas Kumar under section 120 [B] of IPC and sections 13 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities [Prevention] Act. The case is being probed further by NIA.
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