With the surrender of 62 more looted and illegally held arms to the security forces, around 690 firearms have been returned to the authorities in Manipur during the past 10 days, officials said on Sunday.
A police official said that 62 various types of looted weapons and a large cache of different types of ammunition have been deposited to the police and other security forces during the past 24 hours in Imphal West, Churachandpur, Imphal East, Bishnupur, and Tamenglong districts.
On the other hand, the security personnel during their ongoing search operations recovered several arms and a large amount of ammunition from Imphal West district.
Meanwhile, the security forces, as part of their destruction of illegal poppy cultivation, razed 15 acres of illegal poppy plantations in the Tengnoupal district while five illegal bunkers were bulldozed in the Kangpokpi and Imphal East districts.
A defence spokesman separately said that relentless efforts of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles formations, in coordination with Manipur Police, civil administration and other security agencies, aided in the surrender of 99 weapons in the hill and valley districts from February 27 to March 1.
The Army and Assam Rifles, along with other security forces remain dedicated to fostering peace, security and development in the region through the conduct of joint operations and continuous engagement with relevant stakeholders, the spokesman said.
A senior police official said that they are hopeful that many organisations and individuals would return the looted arms and ammunition in the coming days. After the expiry of the seven-day period, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla had, on February 28, extended by one week the time given for the return of looted and illegal weapons and ammunition to the security forces. He also warned that “strict legal action would be taken as per law for possession of such arms and ammunition” after the expiry of the fresh time limit on March 6.
Senior police officials said that so far over 690 looted and illegally held weapons, including many sophisticated arms and a huge cache of ammunition, were returned to security forces since the Governor made the appeal for the first time on February 20.
Governor Bhalla, in his fresh appeal, on Friday said: “The request (on February 20) has yielded a positive response. Upon the expiry of the seven-day deadline for voluntary surrender of such arms, there has been a demand from both valley and hill areas to extend the period for surrender. I have considered the request and decided to extend the deadline up to 4 p.m. of March 6 for voluntary surrender of such arms.”
“During this period, no punitive action would be taken against the individuals who voluntarily surrender weapons. However, any person found in possession of illegal or looted arms after the given deadline will face legal action as per law,” he warned.
In an attempt to restore peace and normalcy, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday reviewed the overall security situation in Manipur. During the meeting, he said that the Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remains fully committed to restoring lasting peace in Manipur and is providing all necessary assistance in this regard. The Home Minister directed that free movement be ensured for people on all roads in Manipur from March 8 and asked for strict action against anyone attempting to create obstructions.
The Home Minister also instructed that the fencing work on both sides of the designated entry points along Manipur’s border with Myanmar should be completed at the earliest. He said that to make Manipur drug-free, the entire network involved in the drug trade should be dismantled.
Saturday’s meeting in Delhi was the first such top-level review meeting held after the imposition of President’s Rule in the northeastern state, which has been witnessing ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since May 3, 2023. President’s Rule was promulgated in the restive Manipur on February 13, four days after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned.
The Manipur Governor and top officials of the state government attended Saturday’s meeting, which was also attended by the Union Home Secretary, Director, Intelligence Bureau, Deputy Chief of Army Staff, the Army’s Eastern Command chief, the Directors General of the BSF, the CRPF, and the Assam Rifles, Security Advisor, Manipur government, and Manipur’s Chief Secretary and Director General of Police.
