Manipur transnational conspiracy case: Moirangthem Anand Singh withdraws bail plea from NIA Court

NEW DELHI: The NIA Special Court informed the NIA on Wednesday that the bail plea of accused Moirangthem Anand Singh, arrested in relation to the Manipur Transnational Conspiracy case, has been withdrawn. On Wednesday, the lawyers of Moirangthem Anand Singh informed Additional Sessions Judge Sachin Gupta that the bail application was withdrawn without pressing or without going on merit. Recently, the NIA, in its reply, opposed the bail plea and said that Moirangthem Anand Singh has an association with a proscribed organisation and was arrested with sophisticated arms and ammunition along with his associates in an area affected by the ongoing strife. If the accused is released on bail, it will cause hardship to the ongoing investigation, and considering the history of the accused, there is a high probability that he will again indulge in the same activities, which will exacerbate the present security situation in Manipur, submitted the NIA.

The accused was in communication with several of his associates during this period of ethnic unrest in Manipur, and considering the present situation, there is a very high probability that he will abscond and/or indulge in detrimental activi-ties to influence other suspects, witnesses, etc. by various means, including tampering with the evidence if he is not kept in judicial custody during the period of investigation, submitted the NIA. According to the NIA, the accused was brought to New Delhi after his arrest and produced before the Delhi Court on September 23, 2023. After his custodial remand to the NIA, the court later sent him into judicial custody.

The Additional Sessions Judge, Sachin Gupta, on October 27, 2023, after noting down the submissions made in the reply copy filed by the NIA, fixed November 8, 2023, for arguments on the bail plea. Advocates Ashish Kashyap, Rahul Kumar, and David Ahonsangham appeared for Moirangthem Anand Singh. According to the NIA, it was revealed during the field investigation that five accused persons having links with terror outfits operating in Manipur were arrested by the Manipur State Police, and that accused Moirangthem Anand Singh was arrested by the NIA on September 22, 2023, from Imphal West Police Station. Earlier, the NIA submitted in court that the revelations made by the accused be further corroborated through a detailed investigation, including identification and examination of potential leads and individuals related to the matter; the accused is a trained cadre of proscribed organisations and was in communication with several of his associates during this period of ethnic unrest in Manipur.

According to the NIA, the case is related to a transnational conspiracy allegedly by Myanmar-based leadership of ter-ror outfits to wage a war against the government of India by exploiting the current ethnic unrest in the State of Manipur. NIA had registered a suo moto case on July 19, 2023, in New Delhi under the various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The NIA said an investigation revealed that, in furtherance of the conspiracy hatched by the leadership based in Myanmar of insurgent groups and proscribed terrorist organisations, they are recruiting overground workers (OGWs), cadres, and sympathisers to augment their strength to carry out attacks on security forces and opposing ethnic groups by exploiting current unrest in the state of Manipur. For this purpose, the aforementioned leadership is collecting arms, ammunition, and explosives by unlawful means, including plunder and pil-lage of government facilities and resources. (ANI)

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