Weapons seized by security forces.
Credit: Indian Army, Assam Rifles
Guwahati: Armed persons belonging to both Meitei and Kuki communities in strife-torn Manipur have deposited more than 100 sophisticated weapons and explosives since the President's Rule was promulgated on February 13, amid protests by Meira Paibis, a Meitei women vigilante group, and operations by the security forces.
The communities started surrendering the illegal weapons after Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on February 20 served a week's deadline for voluntarily surrendering of the weapons, failing which warning about an "all-out operation" was issued. Manipur police officials said some of the weapons deposited so far were looted from armouries in the Imphal Valley in May 2023, when the Meitei-Kuki conflict had erupted.
Complying to the Governor's order, armed persons belonging to the Meitei community deposited several weapons in Kakching, a Meitei-dominated district on February 21. Similarly, armed persons belonging to Zomi and Kuki communities at Tuibong village in Churachandpur district deposited 16 sophisticated weapons on Saturday. The surrendered weapons included a M-16 rifle, INSAS, one SLR, AK series rifles, grenade launcher, mortars, ammunition of improvised mortar, locally-called Pumpi, beside others.
Operations by forces
Amid surrender of weapons, the security forces intensified operations against insurgents, both in the Valley and in the Hills, made several arrests, recovered weapons, seized stolen vehicles, destroyed poppy cultivation and launched a crackdown against those involved in extortion.
Incidents of extortion increased, particularly in the Valley, with armed groups issuing threats to many traders and government officials. The Valley witnessed several abduction cases too. Joint teams of police and central forces seized several stolen vehicles including trucks and excavators from inside jungles.
Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh on Sunday told reporters in Imphal that the administration's priority was to recover all the weapons. "Our effort is on to get all the illegal weapons for restoration of peace. Opening of the highways is another issue and already additional forces have been deployed on the NH-2 and NH-37 for smooth transportation."
Meitei groups angry
As the forces intensified the drive, activists of Meira Paibis, a Meitei women vigilante group, staged protests, with fire torches in their hands, in Imphal and other parts of the Valley alleging that the security forces harassed those who voluntarily deposited the weapons. They said that the one week time given by the Governor is not enough and the same should be extended.
The Coordination Committee on Manipur Unity (COCOMl), an apex body of Meitei organisations, submitted a memorandum to Governor Bhalla claiming that the forces engaged in confrontation with "village volunteers" are willing to deposit the weapons as per an appeal of the Governor. They said the Meitei youths were forced to take up arms as the government and the central security forces failed to protect them from attack by Kuki insurgents, who allegedly misused the Suspension of Operations pacts signed with the government way back in 2008.
More than 6,000 weapons were looted from armouries in the Valley in May 2023 but over half of them are still missing. Appeals made by the state government and the forces in the past for surrendering such weapons did not yield much result. But with the President's Rule removing possibility of intervention by the state government as well as the local politicians, the armed men find no option but to surrender the weapons in order to avoid legal action and operations by the central security agencies, sources said.