Gangtok, Dec. 13: A constable of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) posted in North Sikkim was arrested from his village in Haryana yesterday on the charge of stealing arms from the armoury.

Constable Dalbir Singh of the 8th Battalion of the ITBP stationed at Naku, an outpost beyond Muguthang in North Sikkim, left for home on December 9 on an official leave, taking a 9-mm service revolver and 35 rounds of ammunition with him, a source said. After the arms and ammunition were found missing, the personnel here contacted their counterparts in Haryana and also the police there.

Superintendent of police (north) Sonam Tenzing Bhutia told The Telegraph that the Haryana police arrested Singh under the Arms Act for illegal possession of arms without a licence. The ITBP commandant lodged a formal complaint against Singh with the Mangan police in the North district headquarters yesterday. A case of theft has also been registered, a source said. Singh is likely to be brought here for further investigation.

According to the source, service revolvers are allotted to personnel only above the rank of constable. It is suspected that Singh had somehow fooled the in-charge of the armoury and stolen the arms.

Replacing the Assam Rifles, the 8th Battalion of the ITBP was deployed on the Indo-China border a year ago. The battalion headquarters are based at Chungthang a subdivision in North Sikkim.