Manipur: Poor response to Governor’s amnesty scheme to surrender illegal arms

Guwahati: In what is said to be a poor response to the amnesty scheme of Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla, security sources on Thursday said that altogether 104 firearms and ammunition were voluntarily surrendered by the public in six districts of trouble-torn Manipur.

Informing that these weapons were surrendered in Kangpokpi, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Imphal West and Kakching districts on Wednesday, a day before the seven-day deadline, security sources said that Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla had on February 20 urged the people of the state to voluntarily surrender looted and illegally held weapons within seven days, assuring no punitive action would be initiated against those giving up arms during this period.

It is significant that radical Meitei group Arambai Tenggol on Tuesday said that it would give up illegal weapons only when its terms and conditions are accepted.

The public relations officer of the outfit Mr Robin Mangang Khwairakpamr , who was part of a delegation that met Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla, refused to specify the conditions and a timeline for the weapons surrender, saying that Arambai Tenggol would disclose them later.

The Arambai Tenggol also submitted a memorandum to Mr Bhalla demanding among other things Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the majority Meitei community. The violence in Manipur was triggered in May 2023 after a solidarity march against a proposal for ST status to the Meiteis. Arambai Tenggol has been accused of killing Kuki tribes and destroying their homes.

Mobs looted weapons from state armouries, police stations, and outposts after the ethnic violence began. Around 2,500 of the 6,000 looted weapons have been recovered. The violence has claimed at least 260 lives, displaced around 60,000, and forced Meiteis and Kukis to withdraw to their respective strongholds. The Meiteis, mostly Hindu, live largely in the plains of Imphal valley, and the Kukis, predominantly Christian, in the hills. Fortified buffer zones now separate the two communities.

Indicating that a large number of arms and ammunitions looted from security forces are still in possession of the various civil society groups, security sources said that some radical groups were instrumental in discouraging the youths from surrendering the illegal arms.

Earlier, Manipur chief secretary PK Singh told reporters that the seven-day time given for voluntarily surrendering weapons is enough if one wants to give up arms, and asserted that the forces would take action after the expiry of the period to recover such guns.