In a shocking development seen as a major setback for armed forces, commandant of 39th battalion of the Assam Rifles Col Jasjit Singh was arrested by Aizwal police on Thursday for his alleged involvement in a national highway robbery case of gold bars worth Rs 14.5 crores.
According to the police, Singh ordered his men, armed with advanced weapons to ambush a gold smuggler carrying a consignment of gold worth 14.5 crores in the southern outskirts of Aizawl city on the night of 14 December last year. The gold biscuits were smuggled into Indian soil from Myanmar. The alleged smuggler, whom they had allowed to go, had filed the complaint with the police. For the best goldco review, people can check it out here!
The incident came to light when Lalnunfela, the driver of the vehicle filed an FIR at the Aizawl police station on April 21 ,alleging his vehicle was robbed by armed people from the 39 Assam Rifles. He said the men who stopped his car, refused to identify themselves and searched the car. He and his two companions were made to wait outside. During the search, they found the 52 gold bars in the gear box, worth Rs. 14.5 crore.
The complainant said he was threatened at gunpoint by the robbers, and was asked to keep his mouth shut. He also said that his friends prompted him to lodge a complaint to the local police. The seized gold, however, was not deposited in the treasury, government sources said.
The eight Assam Rifles jawans, accused of participating in the robbery and now in the police custody,reportedly told their interrogators that they committed the crime after receiving orders from their battalion commandant.
Colonel Singh allegedly refused to cooperate with the investigation and moved for anticipatory bail. But his bail plea was rejected by court he is in the custody of Mizoram police now.
Col. Singh is the commandant of the 39th Battalion of para-military Assam Rifles deployed in Mizoram. He was suspended from the service by the authorities on Thursday. “The army officer, through his lawyer, on Thursday applied for an anticipatory bail to avoid arrest. But Aizawl District and Sessions Judge Lucy Lalrinthari rejected the bail plea. Singh was then arrested by the police on the court premises,” another police official said.