Pallel Drug Haul: All seven accused sent to jail
'The group smuggled drugs to Moreh in December last as well'
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, March 12 2013:
PRO (Defence Wing) Colonel Ajay Chowdhry and six others, who were arrested by Thoubal District Police Commandos from Pallel on February 24 last while they were trying to smuggle out a huge consignment of drugs worth over Rs 15 crores into Myanmar, have been sent to the jail today after being produced before the Special Court of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (ND & PS), which remanded them to judicial custody for 11 days till March 22 .
Apart from Col Ajay Chowdhry, the other six accomplices who have been sent to the jail today following an order passed by Roland Keishing, Judge of Special Court, ND & PS, Manipur are Ngairangbam Brojendro, who is an Assistant Manager in charge of security staff in IndiGo Airlines; Army Sepoy RK Babloo, Lunkhohao Haokip alias Haopu Haokip of Langol Game village, Zangminthang Doungel of New Checkon; Sitlal Haokip of New Checkon near Brighter Academy and Saikholen Haokip of Duelahlane, who is the son of senior Congress MLA TN Haokip.
As per the investigation report submitted by the Investigation Officer (IO) to the Special court of ND& PS today, PRO (Defence Wing) Col Ajay Chowdhry; Assistant Manager in charge of security staff of IndiGo Airlines Ngairangbam Brojendro and Lunkhohao Haokip alias Haopu Haokip had successfully transported huge quantity of illicit drugs from M-Sector, Imphal to Moreh in the first week of December 2012 by using the official Gypsy allotted to Col Chowdhry and a Bolero jeep bearing number AS 01BX-8699 .
As such, all seven of them are involved in different FIR cases lodged by Kakching Police and accordingly, the IO concerned of the case appealed to the ND& PS Special Court for remanding all seven of them to judicial custody.
After hearing the appeal of the IO, the Special Court of NDPS remanded the seven accused persons to judicial custody till March 22 and directed that all of them should be produced before the Court on March 22 again.
On completion of their five days' police custody remand, all the seven accused persons were brought to the Special Court of ND & PS at Lamphelpat today amid tight security arrangement.
In spite of that, around 60 volunteers of Working Groups of Meira Paibi Movement, Manipur stormed the vehicles in which the alleged drug smugglers were being brought and shouted slogans demanding that the drug smugglers should be given life imprisonment or handed them over to the people.
The women protesters also demanded Manipur Government to make public the real identities of the individuals involved in the recent seizure of huge quantity of illicit drugs from Imphal Airport and Mantripukhri.
While the accused were being brought out from appearing in the court, the women protesters also tried to drag them down from the police vehicles.
However, the police managed to control the situation from getting out of hand.
It may be noted here that three separate FIRs have been filed against the seven accused drug smugglers in connection with the Pallel drug haul.
Three FIRs (FIR numbers are 25, 26, 27) filed under Section 21/29 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 relate to punishment for financing illicit traffic of drugs and harbouring offenders as well as abetment and criminal conspiracy among others.