307 Arms Surrendered in Manipur on Last Day

A total of 307 weapons were surrendered in Manipur on Thursday as the seven-day deadline set by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla for surrender of illegally held arms ended, officials said.

- Thomas Ngangom

IMPHAL:

Even after Thursday's surrenders, less than 600 weapons have been recovered, the officials said, leaving a bulk of the arms stolen from government armories with civilians. "Such voluntary surrender of weapons will significantly help in restoring peace, communal harmony, and lawfulness in the state of Manipur," Manipur Police said in a statement on Thursday evening.

While 246 weapons were deposited at the 1st Manipur Rifles campus in Imphal, 61 others were surrendered at various locations across both hill and valley regions.

The numbers are extremely low given that at least 6,500 weapons and over 600,000 pieces of ammunition, including mortars and grenades, were looted from armories across the state by civilians and militant groups in both valley and hill areas within months of ethnic violence breaking out in the state in May 2023.

To be sure, the exact count of looted weapons and shells was submitted to the Supreme Court by the state government in a sealed cover.