2 arrested with arms in Assam’s Cachar district: Police

SILCHAR: Two persons — one each from Mizoram and Manipur — have been arrested in Assam’s Cachar district for allegedly transporting firearms to a sensitive area along Manipur, police said on Wednesday

Cachar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Partha Pratim Das said the arrests were made during routine checking at the Dholakhal Border Outpost when officer stopped a vehicle coming from Mizoram on early on Wednesday.

“A thorough search of the vehicle led to the recovery of one .32 pistol with a magazine, one 7.65 mm pistol with a magazine, and five rounds of 7.65 mm live ammunition. All arms and ammunition were seized,” Das said.

The two men were identified by the police as Hmargaihzuol Hmar (26) from Aizawl, Mizoram, and Lalkhumlien Hmar (38) from Imphal East, Manipur.

Preliminary investigation suggests the consignment was headed for the Hmarkhalien area under Lakhipur police station. This region shares a porous border with Manipur and sheltered people displaced during the ethnic violence in the neighbouring state.

During the peak of the Manipur violence, nearly 3,000 people from Manipur’s Jiribam district had crossed over into Assam and taken shelter in the Fulertrol area of Cachar, which lies close to Hmarkhalien.

“We are examining both backward and forward linkages, and we suspect more individuals may be involved,” the SSP said.