Willy Naru, first Thai national extradited to India, convicted in arms case

…has been fixed for arguments on sentence on September 29. The NIA registered the case on December 18, 2010, and filed the chargesheet against Shimray, Calvin, Tangkhul and Naru on March 26, 2011. The court said, “ The surrounding circumstances, including the meetings, repeated foreign travel, communications concerning shipment of arms and ammunition, and the evidence regarding the activities and organisational structure of NSCN(IM), when considered cumulatively, lend corroboration to the prosecution case regarding the involvement of A-4 (Naru) in the procurement and facilitation of arms and ammunition for NSCN(IM). ” It added, “The evidence further establishes the role of A-1 (Shimray) and A-4 in communicating with persons associated with NSCN(IM) in connection with the procurement and transportation of a substantial quantity of…

…advocate Akshay Bhambri, disputed the existence of any completed arms transaction and argued that the prosecution had failed to establish that weapons were actually purchased or supplied. The defence pointed out that no arms were recovered, no money transfer through a bank account had been proved, no cash was recovered and no financial records establishing the alleged transaction were produced. The counsel also alleged that a receipt relied upon by the prosecution was fabricated and false. The defence further relied on the alleged position of TCL, arguing that the Chinese company had denied knowing Naru and…