Manipur governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday extended the deadline for the surrender of looted and illegally-held arms and ammunition in the state to March 6 because there was a “demand from both valley and hill areas to extend the period”.
Bhalla, who took charge in January, made it clear that “this is the last opportunity for everyone concerned” to contribute to peace in the strife-hit state.
“Upon expiry of the seven-day deadline (Thursday) for voluntary surrender of such arms, there has been 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 4pm of 06 March 2025 for voluntary surrender of such arms,” Bhalla said in a statement.
Those still in possession of such looted and illegally-held weapons and ammunition were “requested to voluntarily come forward and surrender” the arms to the nearest police station/ outpost/ security forces camp by the deadline, Bhalla said, while assuring that no punitive action would be taken against the individuals voluntarily surrendering their weapons.
However, they will face legal action according to the law if they don’t hand over the illegal arms within the deadline, after which the police and security forces would be taking up extensive operations, he said.
The last day of the earlier deadline that ended on Thursday had seen members of the Meitei radical group, Arambai Tenggol, handing over 246 weapons at the 1st Manipur Rifles campus in Imphal West district, a move which was seen by most as a positive step in the ongoing conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos but they also said that the road to peace is going to be a long haul.
This was evident from the reaction of Kuki-Zo organisations such as the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), which hold the Arambai Tenggol responsible for the death of more than 230 community members in the ongoing conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos, describing the handing over of the arms as a “calculated effort to enhance their public image” and “garner sympathy and legitimacy”. They also said that AT members had returned only five per cent of the looted arms.
Over 6,000 arms and six lakh weapons were looted from police armouries and stations in both the Meitei-majority valley and the Kuki-Zo-majority hill districts during the strife.