NIA chargesheets 5 people in Mizoram involved in supplying arms to Bangladeshi militant group

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday chargesheeted five accused in a Mizoram case related to seizure of a huge cache of prohibited arms and ammunition meant for supply to a Bangladeshi militant group.

The accused — Lalbiakchunga alias Divid alias David, Lalthawmcheuva alias Thawma, Malsawma alias Malsawma Loncheu, Rualliansanga alias Sanga and Alok Bikash Chakma — have been named in a chargesheet filed before a court in Aizawl.

They have been charged under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Arms Act, 1959 and the Foreigners Act, 1946, the NIA said in a statement. The case was originally registered on January 15, 2025 by Mizoram Police.

The NIA, which took over and re-registered the case two months later, unravelled a criminal conspiracy by the accused to supply the prohibited weapons and ammunition to armed cadres of the UPDF (United Peoples Democratic Front) militant outfit based in Chittagong area in Bangladesh, it said.

The weapons seized from Saithah village, Mamit district, Mizoram, include six AK 47 rifles, 13 magazines and 10,050 rounds of ammunition, the probe agency said, adding investigations in the case are continuing.