Man behind new outfit remanded
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 28 2022:
The man who is said to be the mastermind behind the setting of a new militant outfit has been remanded to police custody after the NIA Court, Imphal West gave consent to an application filed by Imphal police station for making formal arrest of the same man.
Paikhomba Wahengbam was arrested on October 14 by a team of Imphal West commandos along with 103 demand notes of the new outfit from a rented house located at Kwakeithel Haorakchambi.
During custodial interrogation, Paikhomba disclosed that he alone started designing a letterhead of the new outfit on September 24 midnight by using his laptop and started drafting a common note in the name of the outfit and it was signed by himself as Yohenba Mangang, Finance and Account in-charge.
He then printed 50 of copies of the demand note and started drafting a press note on September 26, claiming the formation of a new underground outfit.
He also listed some dummy names as the top functionaries of the outfit.
The accused also disclosed that he had personally visited the offices of some media houses, both electronic and print, and dropped the press release in the drop box/ counters of the media houses.
However none of the media house published the press note following a decision of AMWJU.
The IO of the case submitted that a complaint was received from the Principal of one Government college that she received a letter through speed post and when she open the envelope she found two letters from an unlawful organization demanding 1 per cent of salary from all employees of the college, both teaching and non teaching and the letter threatened that she would be held responsible for any arrest of the outfit's volunteers or any plan to make create trouble.
In the meantime, Imphal police station today filed an application before the NIA Court seeking formal arrest of Paikhomba in connection with another FIR case registered against him for serving extortion notes to the Council of Higher secondary education Manipur (COHSEM) in the name of the new outfit.
The same application prayed for remanding the accused in police custody for 6 days.
The Court, on perusal of the case record and after hearing the submission of the IO, gave consent to the application and remanded the accused in police custody till November 2 .