NIA Files Charge Sheet Against 3 For Extortion Activities In Manipur

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against three persons, including a Myanmar national, in a case of extortion by members of banned terror outfits in Manipur.

The charge sheet was filed in the NIA Special Court, Imphal, against the three cadres of the proscribed terrorist organisations, namely PRA (People’s Revolutionary Army), KCP (Kangleipak Communist Party), PREPAK (People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak) and UNLF (United National Liberation Front), among others.

The accused, charged under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), have been identified as Deepak Sharma alias Khinmaung (38) of Myanmar, Suraj Jasiwal (33) of Manipur and Shaikhom Bruce Meetei (38), also from Manipur. Deepak Sharma has been additionally charged under the Foreigners Act, 1946.

“The accused had been raising and collecting the funds with the intention to further the activities of these terrorist organizations,” said a NIA spokesperson.

“Investigations so far have revealed that the cadres of the banned outfits had been making extortion calls to the people in Imphal and the Valley areas to raise funds for their organizations. These cadres shared bank account details of their associates with the victims and instructed them to deposit the extortion money in the same,” the spokesperson said.

The federal agency had registered the suo motu case in the matter on 9 March 2022.

The violence in Manipur has claimed 142 lives till July 4, the state government informed the Supreme Court on Monday by filing an updated status report, which disclosed that the majority of fatalities occurred in the valley districts as the state still reels under ethnic tensions.