NIA chargesheets 3 for extortion in Manipur

NIA chargesheet filed against 3, incl. Myanmar national, for extorting money on behalf of Manipur-based extremist groups. Accused charged under IPC & UAPA.

GUWAHATI

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against three people, accusing them of extorting money on behalf of Manipur-based extremist groups, an official statement said on July 13. Among the three is a Myanmar national.

The chargesheet was filed on July 12 at the NIA Special Court in Imphal against the three for working on behalf of outfits such as the People’s Revolutionary Army, Kangleipak Communist Party, People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, and United National Liberation Front.

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The accused — who have been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 — have been identified as Deepak Sharma, 38, of Khinmaung in Myanmar, and Suraj Jaiswal, 33, and Saikhom Bruce Meetei, 38 of Manipur. Mr. Sharma has been additionally charged under the Foreigners’ Act of 1946, an NIA spokesperson said.

“The accused had been raising or collecting funds with the intention to further the activities of these terrorist organisations,” the spokesperson added.

Investigations have so far revealed that members of the banned outfits had been making extortion calls to people across the Imphal Valley to raise funds for their organisations. These members shared bank account details of their associates with the victims and instructed them to deposit the extortion money in them.