Manipur: After Governor's call, illegally-held weapons surrendered in Churachandpur, Imphal East

Imphal (Manipur) [India], February 23 : Following the appeal of Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, and joint efforts in public awareness by District Police, Assam Rifles and CRPF, people in Manipur have begun surrendering illegally held weapons.
16 weapons and ammunition were voluntarily surrendered in Churachandpur district and one weapon in Imphal East District by the members of the Zomi and Kuki communities on Saturday, Manipur police said in a press release.
"16 weapons and ammunition in Churachandpur District (one M-16 Rifle, one 7.62 mm SLR Rifle, two AK Rifles, three INSAS Rifles, two M-79 40mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL), one 9mm Carbine Machine Gun, one 51 mm Mortar, three .303 Rifles, two Single Barrel Rifles, sixty-four Gelatine Sticks, ten rounds of 60 mm Pumpi (improvised Mortar) ammunition, seventeen rounds of AK ammunition, forty rounds of 5.56 mm Rifle ammunition and three 9 mm Calibre ammunition)," Manipur police said.
Manipur police further said that one weapon and several ammunitions were voluntarily surrendered in Imphal East District (1 CMC Cabine with magazine, 6 number of 2" motor shell, 1200 5.56x30 mm ammunition, 2200 .22 ammunition).
Search operations and area domination were conducted by security forces in the fringe and vulnerable areas of hill and valley Districts.
During the search operation, Manipur police recovered two 36 Hand Grenade without Detonator, five 9 mm Pistols, one SMG carbine mark as 'CT05' (without magazine, Pistol grip, bridge block), five 303 live ammunitions, four 7.62 mm AK live ammunitions, one Single bore barrel regd. no. 1667-76, two detonators with ware, one Radio Set (BAOFENG), one country made machine gun with magazine, two .22 live ammunitions and five anti-Riot shells from Phunal Maring Village under Irilbung-PS, Imphal-East District.
Manipur police recovered one country-made Lathode, eight IEDs, three Pompi shell and one Radio Set (Baofeng) from the general area of Leibi Khunou under Moreh -PS, Tengnoupal District.
Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla appealed to members of all communities to surrender looted police weapons and illegally held arms within seven days and warned that if the weapons were not surrendered, strict action would follow for possession of arms, added Assam Rifles statement on Thursday.
Post this appeal, the Assam Rifles, along with the Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), State Intelligence Agencies, and State Administration, engaged with local Zomi and Kuki community leaders, addressed their security concerns, provided assurances of safety, and emphasised the positive impact of the region's de-weaponisation.
The engagement proved fruitful, as the community leaders volunteered to surrender a huge quantity of arms and ammunition as a stepping stone in the peace process, which has been the Central government's stance from the start.
After discussions with the joint security forces and the state administration, the Zomi and Kuki community leaders engaged with the local population and brought the first lot of voluntarily surrendered weapons on 22 February 2025 at Tuibong Village, Churachandpur District, Manipur.
The voluntarily surrendered looted and illegal weapons and ammunition include a total of 16 weapons from the Zomi and Kuki communities in the presence of top-rank officials of Assam Rifles, CRPF, State Civil Administration, Police and State Intelligence Agencies of Churachandpur District.
Joint forces meticulously planned an all-encompassing effort to include Assam Rifles, police, state civil administration, CRPF, and state intelligence agencies. This will motivate other groups as well to further the peace process, inspiring and motivating youth to surrender arms and work towards a better future for the overall development of the region, thereby enabling the peace process to bring a halt to the ongoing conflict.