Governor extends arms surrender deadline
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, February 28 2025: With the appeal for voluntary surrender of looted and illegally possessed weapons and ammunition made by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla resulting in deposit of at least 661 arms along with around 7000 ammunition and 250 explosive devices during the seven-day period, the Governor has extended the deadline until 4 pm on March 6, 2025.The decision came in response to demands from both valley and hill areas seeking an extension after the initial seven-day deadline expired on Thursday.

"I had issued a request to the people of all communities, particularly the youth in the valley and hills, to voluntarily come forward and surrender looted and illegally held weapons & ammunition to the nearest police station, outpost, or security forces camp within seven days.

The request has yielded a positive response," the Governor stated.

With the extended deadline, he once again urged individuals still in possession of illegal arms to surrender them, assuring that "no punitive action will be taken against those who voluntarily surrender weapons" within the given period.

However, he warned that "any person found in possession of illegal or looted arms after the given deadline will face legal action as per law" .

He also stated that after the deadline, "the police and security forces would be taking up extensive operations".

Calling this the final opportunity, the Governor appealed for collective responsibility in restoring peace.

"This is the last opportunity for, everyone concerned to contribute to peace, communal harmony, safeguarding the future of our youths, and security of our society," he said.

Encouraging voluntary surrender, he urged, "Come forward and choose peace" .

Following his first appeal made on February 20, as many as 661 arms, around 7000 ammunition and 250 explosive materials have been surrendered till February 27, as per reports available.

A major chunk of the 661 surrendered arms were from the valley districts while only around 65 were from hill districts.

Though there is no official statement on the total number of arms recovered including those looted from government armouries, analysing past reports show that around 4500 arms have either been recovered or surrendered with around 3000 likely to be looted arms.

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