Indian Government plans arms crackdown

24 July 2015
Indian Government plans arms crackdown
Senior police officials show arms to the media at Panbazar police station in Guwahati city, India 07 September 2013. Photo: EPA

As part of its multi-pronged strategy to combat insurgency in the North-East, the Indian Government has planned a crackdown on the supply of weapons to militant outfits through Myanmar India Today reported on 23 July.
There has been a surge in the illegal supply of weapons from across the border. Even though investigating agencies have made massive seizures of arms in the recent months, they have not been able to snap the supply chains.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has asked state governments affected by insurgency in the North-East to provide data on the smuggling of weapons. Sources said the exercise is being undertaken to crack the supply base of the easy inflow of weapons to militants from Myanmar and identify couriers and middlemen on the Indian side near border areas.
Sources said the militants have been getting sophisticated weapons like Kalashnikov - popularly known as AK rifles - Heckler and Koch or the HK series and Glock pistols. In recent cases, NIA seized more than 30 AK rifles along with other HK series, Glock, M16 and M20 pistols.
Sources said intelligence inputs suggest that the arms are being supplied from China and are being pumped into India through the porous Myanmar border.