Surrender arms in seven days or face action: Governor
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, February 20 2025: Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla has issued a public appeal urging all communities in the state to voluntarily surrender looted and illegally held weapons within the next seven days, starting from Thursday.

Emphasising the need to restore peace and normalcy, the Governor assured that no punitive action would be taken against those who return the weapons within the stipulated timeframe.

He, however, warned that strict action would follow against anyone found in possession of illegal arms after the deadline.

Surrender arms in seven days or face action: Governor

"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-today 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.

"Your single act of returning these weapons can be a powerful gesture towards ensuring peace".

"I want to assure you that no punitive action would be initiated if such weapons are returned within the stipulated time.

Thereafter, strict action will be taken for possession of such weapons.

The government is committed to ensuring a peaceful resolution of the situation and safeguarding the future of our youth.

Let us rebuild our State together with hope and trust for a brighter future.

Come forward and choose peace," Governor Bhalla said.

The appeal came amid the state continuing to grapple with the devastating effects of the crisis that erupted on May 3, 2023 .

The unrest began after the All Tribal Students' Union Manipur (ATSUM) organised a Tribal Solidarity March in protest against a Manipur High Court order instructing the state government to discuss the demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Meetei/Meitei community and submit its recommendation to the ministry.

While the march remained peaceful in most hill districts, it turned violent in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts, where protestors targeted and burned government offices, an act widely seen as a backlash against the government's war on drugs campaign and the crackdown on illegal poppy cultivation and encroachment in reserved and protected forest areas.

As the rally concluded, an incident involving the burning of a couple of old tyres at the concrete base of the "Anglo-Kuki War" centenary gate at Leisang village, located several kilometres away from the last Meetei village in the Bishnupur-Churachandpur boundary area, quickly escalated tensions.

The news spread rapidly, drawing a large Kuki mob towards Kangvai and Torbung, where they began vandalising and burning Meetei houses and shops.

Local residents, supported by Meetei youths from nearby villages, retaliated in kind.

Soon after, armed cadres of Kuki militant groups under the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement joined the clashes, targeting Meetei villages.

The violence spread to Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal districts, with Kuki mobs attacking Meetei settlements.

By late evening, retaliatory attacks erupted in the Imphal valley, where Meetei mobs targeted Kuki villages.

On May 3, videos showing Kuki mobs looting gun shops in Churachandpur town went viral.

The visuals, coupled with reports of armed cadres participating in the attacks, triggered a wave of similar but even more serious incidents in the valley.

Meetei mobs began targeting security posts and government armouries, looting arms and ammunition on the night of May 4.Over the following days, further attacks on security posts occurred across both the valley and hill districts.

However, the sheer volume of weapons looted from the valley overshadowed the looting in the hill areas.

Government reports estimated that around 6,000 arms and several lakh rounds of ammunition were looted across the state.

Security forces have since recovered nearly 2,000 firearms.

Although mainstream media has largely focused on arms looted from the valley, several weapons and ammunition stolen from government armouries, along with locally made mortars (Pompi) and rockets, have also been recovered from Kuki-dominated areas over the past 21 months.

"What will be challenging, not that it can't be done, is for the joint security forces under the President's rule to guarantee protection from attacks by sneaky militants from either side on Meitei and Kuki civilians and volunteers who have deposited looted firearms.

It does not matter whether the militants are under a ceasefire.

Anyone who tries to sabotage the road to peace will regret it," NTDV quoted a top central force officer as saying over the phone from Imphal, requesting anonymity.

Kuki groups have accused Arambai Tenggol of orchestrating armed violence against Kuki.

However, the latter asserted that it is merely a cultural organisation compelled to take up arms as village defence volunteers after ineffective law enforcement in the early days of the ethnic violence left Meetei villages in the foothills vulnerable to attacks by Kuki militants.

The ongoing conflict has claimed over 250 lives, with more than 30 individuals still missing.

Over 60,000 people have been displaced and continue to live in relief camps and temporary shelters.

Efforts to resolve the crisis over the past 21 months have been unsuccessful.

On February 9, chief minister N Biren resigned, just one day before the scheduled budget session of the state legislative assembly.

A few days later, the President of India imposed President's Rule and placed the state assembly under suspended animation.

Consequently, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla assumed full administrative control of Manipur.

On February 17, the Governor convened a high-level meeting at the Old Secretariat, his first official interaction with top civil and security officials since the imposition of President's Rule.

The meeting was attended by key officials, including the Security Advisor, the Director General of Police (DGP), the chief secretary, senior IAS and MCS officers, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), and Additional PCCF.

Law enforcement officials, including the ADGP (Law & Order) and other senior security personnel, were also present.

Mention may be made that over 100 cadres of different armed organisations have been arrested and several arms and ammunition as well as explosive materials recovered by joint security teams over the last 30 days.