Imphal, January 16 2009: THE MYSTERIOUS incident of killing a sentry at the Imphal east district police headquarter and taking away an LMG along with ammunittion is a "well-planned murder", revealed the follow up investigation into the incident.

Top police officials are ruling out involvement of outsiders committing the crime.

However, police are yet to point the needle of suspicion on any particular insider.

An IRB personnel on sentry duty at the Imphal east district police headquarters where commando barrack is also located was found killed at the sentry tower while the LMG along with three fully loaded magazines were found missing in the wee hours of yesterday.

The possibility of involvement of some insiders, which means policemen, in killing the sentry and taking the weapon could not be ruled out as the sentry tower where the crime took place is located inside the complex, the sources said.

"There are some black sheep among our boys," the source said today referring to the preliminary findings in the investigation.

Any outsider who has no idea of the system of guard of the police complex could infiltrate into the complex and commit the heinous crime.

Apart from this, the source said, no one who is not well known to the person on sentry duty could climb up the tower easily even if he was sleeping and kill him.

Mention may be made here that the sentry tower is located at a site between the barracks of the police commando personnel attached to the Imphal east district police and the SP's office.

No other sentry in the other tower in the complex except one at the Porompat police station which is also located inside the same complex on that day was usual like other days.

Personnel from the 1st IRB are detailed as sentry guards in the complex.

After a formal complaint was lodged by the Night Duty Officer (NDO) on the fatefull night, the Porompat police have registered a case and started investigating into the incident.

Statement of the personnel detailed as sentry who was to replace the deceased personnel named Md Sikander (31) after midnight but negotiated with the deceased, Sikander at their personnel level to cover his shift from 12 to 3 am has been taken in for interrogation but no clue could be extracted from him, the officer said.

The officer refused to disclose the name of the personnel being interrogated.

Another responsible officer of the district police said, "We will definitely find out the culprit(s) as the incident is a very sensitive one and leave a question mark on the system of guarding the police complex of the district police" which is one of the districts being actively operated by the insurgents.

"No stone will leave unturned while finding out the black sheep," he assured while admitting that there are some insincere personnel among the personnel in uniform specially in the set up under his control.

He also said that no one from outside could performed the act while ruling out involvement of militants' hand in the taking away of the weapon after killing the sentry.

Admitting lapses in the security guard in the complex, the officer said regarding the matter he had several times conducted briefing to the personnel of sentry duty.

But all had gone in vain, he murmured.

To recalled, the personnel on sentry duty to the only watch tower was found dead into a pool of blood when a team of police commandos returned back after a counter insurgency operation have a look as they find no sign of the sentry in the guard tower.

When they received no response from the sentry despite calling him repeatedly, one of the commandos climbed up to the tower found the sentry lying dead in a pool of blood.

The killers might have used the butt of the LMG to hit to dead him at the head only once with maximum intensity.

Police investigation also observed that the sentry had been killed only for the sake of the weapon which the "black sheep" which is yet to detect out might or may sell out to the militant directly or through third person.

Comment