IMPHAL: Troops of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) apprehended a man on Monday, for allegedly trying to rob a bank here at gunpoint.
The accused, identified as Rinku Singh, entered the Bank of Baroda in the Sangaiporou area here and brandished a 9mm pistol and a sharp weapon and demanded Rs five lakh from the branch manager.
Singh then took the money from one of the cash counters and fled the scene.
However, the alert on duty CRPF personnel in the vicinity of the bank managed to apprehend him.
Singh was later handed over to the local police who forwarded him to the court after preliminary investigation and later he was sent to judicial custody.
Smuggling and easy availability of arms in Manipur have become a menace in Manipur.
Smuggling of arms and other contraband items from neighbouring Myanmar is rampant in Manipur. These smuggled items often find its way to the state through the porous Moreh border.
On Sunday, a huge cache of arms and ammunition were seized in Noney district of the state.
The seizures include two .22mm pistols, one 9mm pistol, a hand grenade and 36 live cartridges of various calibre.
