NEW DELHI, Sept 5: The recovery of sophisticated M16 rifles, the primary weapon of U.S. armed forces, and other modern arms and ammunition from Maoists in Jharkhand a few days back has set the alarm bells ringing in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as it indicates the opening of “the northeast arms supply route” to left-wing extremists.
Stating that soon a full-fledged inquiry would be initiated by the National Investigation Agency into the inter-State nexus, and the international links, a senior MHA official said there were reports of Maoists approaching the Manipur-based People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for sourcing sophisticated arms and ammunition to take on the security forces that have been acquiring modern arms themselves.
“In 2009, an agreement was signed between top Maoist commanders and leaders of PLA