A week after President's Rule in Manipur, Governor issues 7-day ultimatum to surrender looted weapons

No punitive action will be taken against those who return such weapons within the deadline, the Governor said in a statement on Thursday.

However, strict action will be taken to keep looted or illegal weapons after the seven-day deadline ends.

"People of Manipur, both in valley and hills, have suffered immense hardship for the last over 20 months due to a series of unfortunate incidents affecting peace and communal harmony. In the greater interest of restoring normalcy, so that people can return to their normal day-to-day activities, all communities in the state must come forward to ensure cessation of hostilities and maintenance of peace and order in the society," Governor Bhalla said in the statement.

"It is in this regard that I sincerely request the people of all communities, particularly the youths in the valley and hills, to voluntarily come forward and surrender looted and illegally held weapons and ammunition to the nearest police station/outpost/security forces camp within the next seven days, with effect from today," the Governor said.

Manipur, which shares an open border with Myanmar, has been witnessing ethnic clashes between the Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki for nearly two years.

The state was brought under the President's Rule following Chief Minister N Biren Singh and his council of ministers' resignation on February 9.

According to reports, an estimated 6,000 firearms were looted from police stations and armouries across Manipur after ethnic clashes broke out on May 3, 2023.

Some 4,000 firearms are still missing, said reports. Some of the recovered firearms include American-origin M-series assault rifles. Approximately 30 percent of looted weapons have been recovered so far, NDTV quoting police sources reported.