Imphal, April 28: The two youths who were released by a Manipur court yesterday in the ?stage-managed surrender? case have strongly refuted the Assam Rifles? claim that they were militants.

Heikrujam Lemba and Heikrujam Ingo, who were paraded in a surrender programme last month and released by the chief judicial magistrate of Chandel district yesterday, said a recruiting agent of the Assam Rifles had taken them to the forces? Leikul post in Chandel last year with promises of jobs.

They said they were made to don army fatigues before being produced before the media on March 13. The previous day they were instructed how to handle weapons and hand them over to the officer they would be meeting the next day. ?We went to the post in the hope of getting jobs and not to surrender. We are not militants and we did not have any weapon,? both of them said.

The duo was produced in the court yesterday following a directive by the Imphal bench of Gauhati High Court.

Under the same directive, the Assam Rifles had handed over two others, Heikrujam Govind and Sagolsem Govind, to Heingang police station on Tuesday. They were remanded in police custody till May 2.

The high court had directed the Assam Rifles to hand over these four youths along with another to the police after their parents filed separate habeas corpus petitions.

The fifth youth, identified as Heikrujam Momocha, is yet to be handed over to the police by the Assam Rifles. The force maintains that no one by the name of Momocha is in its custody.

However, Momocha?s father Nilachandra Singh stated in his petition that the Assam Rifles had produced his son in last month?s surrender programme as K. Mantri.

But Mantri refused to recognise Nilachandra Singh as his father in the magistrate?s court where he was also produced yesterday. Singh also said Mantri was not his son. The Assam Rifles took Mantri back to their post as per his wish.

The paramilitary force is also preparing to seek the high court?s directive in disposing of weapons allegedly surrendered by Ingo, Lemba and Mantri.

The force had produced three carbines in the court yesterday but the magistrate refused to accept them saying the high court directive did not mention any weapons.

Military spokesamn Lt Col S.D. Goswami today said the Assam Rifles would approach the high court seeking a directive for disposal of the three carbines.

Meanwhile, the Apunba Lup, which spearheaded the agitation against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in 2004, strongly condemned the ?stage-managed surrender?.

Residents of Thoubal staged a sit-in at Laimanai, the locality from where the five youths hail, demanding unconditional release of all five.