Imphal, Feb 20 Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Thursday urged the people to deposit the looted arms and ammunition to the government within seven days otherwise "strict action would be taken for possession of such weapons".
The Governor, in an appeal, said that the government is deeply concerned about the illegal circulation of arms and ammunition that were either looted or unlawfully taken from various places including state armouries.
"These weapons pose a serious threat to the safety and security of the society."
The Governor's appeal to give up the looted arms and ammunition came eight days after President Droupadi Murmu promulgated the President’s Rule in the state and put the state Assembly under suspended animation on February 13 following his recommendation.
He said that the people of Manipur, both in the valley and hills, have suffered immense hardship for the last 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 the cessation of hostilities and maintenance of peace and order in the society," he said.
"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 or outpost or security forces’ camp within next seven days, with effect from today (February 20). Your single act of returning these weapons can be a powerful gesture towards ensuring peace. I want to assure you that no punitive action will be initiated if such weapons are returned within the stipulated time. Thereafter, strict action would be taken for possession of such weapons," Bhalla said.
The Governor said that the government is committed to ensuring a peaceful resolution of the situation and safeguarding the future of the youths.
"Let us rebuild our state together with hope and trust for a brighter future. Come forward and choose peace," he stated.
Various reports suggested that during the ethnic riots, which broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, over 6,000 different types of sophisticated arms and lakhs of pieces of different types of ammunition were looted from the police stations and police outposts by the mobs and militants. The security forces so far have recovered a substantial number of the looted arms. Former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, the state Home Department and other authorities have earlier on a number of occasions urged the people to deposit the looted arms and ammunition, but the response was very poor.
Former Union Home Secretary Bhalla took oath as Manipur Governor on January 3 and visited some trouble-torn districts and held discussions with community leaders, representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) and officials of the various district administrations as part of his efforts to restore peace in the state.
He also held a series of meetings with top Army, paramilitary, police officials, and politicians in Imphal to assess the situation.
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