Purulia arms drop case
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Purulia arms drop case is an infamous incident in which unauthorised arms were dropped from an Antonov-26 aircraft in the Purulia district of India on December 17, 1995. Despite the passage of years, the incident is wrapped in mystery and not many details are known about the case, nor is there much consensus regarding the chain of events and the evidence in question. A Latvian aircraft dropped a large consignment of arms in Jhalda, Ghatanga, Belamu, Maramu villages of Purulia district on the night of January 17, 1995. Several days later, when the plane re-entered Indian airspace, it was intercepted by the Indian Air Force MiG-21 and forced to land in Mumbai, and its five-member Latvian crew, including Captain Alexander Klichine, the 44-year-old pilot, Igor Moskvitine(navigator), Oleg Gaidach(co-pilot), Yevgeni Antimenko(cargo operator) and Igor Timmerman(flight engineer), and Peter Bleach, an alleged arms dealer and former British intelligence officer, were captured. The king-pin Niels Nielson, a Danish citizen against whom an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued later, escaped. While the true movtive of the operation remains shourded in mystery and conjecture, it is believed that the arms were intended for the Hindu cult Anand Marg ("Happy Path"), but proof of this could not be established. The crew of the aircraft consisted of five Latvian citizens and Peter Bleach, a British citizen. They were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. Following the intervention of Russian authorities, the Latvian crew (who gained Russian citizenship while in Indian custody) were later pardoned and released in 2000. Peter Bleach, too, was released on February 4, 2004, via a presidential pardon, allegedly due to persistent British pressure. With all the main characters involved in the episode either free or absconding, many of the details of event are still unknown, and may never be known. Various conspiracy theories have been put forward, but the real motives of the arms drop remains unknown. On a diplomatic level, good relations have been maintained with Russia, Latvia, Britain, and even Pakistan - the various countries linked to the episode - despite the fact that this event remains the most serious breach of Indian national security till date.
