The Lt. Col. posted as the defence PRO in Imphal Ajay Choudhury was on the radar of women vigilante groups — Meira Paibi of Manipur — which on Sunday first raided his convoy of three vehicles ferrying drugs estimated to be worth between `15-30 crore to the Indo-Burma border.
Disclosing that powerful civil society group of Manipur women had alerted the Manipur police chief about the activities of the defence PRO, Thoubal district superintendent of police Ak. Jhaljit Singh told this newspaper over telephone that they are expecting some more revelation in this case.
“We have taken him on police remand from the court as some more connections in this case are to be investigated,” said Mr Singh admitting that the gang of six, which was apprehended on Sunday, are suspected to have ferried at least three such consignments of pseudoephedrine, used for manufacturing heroin, in past across the border to Burma.
Pointing out that defence PRO Ajay Choudhury who was known to be a “loose cannon” of defence ministry in Manipur, security sources in the Army said that his posting in Imphal was to look after the PR work of Assam Rifle but he was reporting to the ministry of defence directly instead of taking order from Assam Rifle headquarters in Shillong.
The director-general of Police in Manipur Y. Joykumar Singh who himself was supervising the investigation, told reporters, “The three civilians who were also arrested with Lt. Col. Choudhury on Sunday are Kukis and seem to be drug peddlers. They are also suspected to have been involved in a number of such operations in past.”
He also clarified that police have also verified that one of the vehicles, seized with drug was allotted to him by Army, which the Army PRO was denying earlier in the media.