Imphal: Security forces on June 7 successfully recovered as many as 57 arms, 318 ammunition and five bombs from different places in the State. With this, the total recovery of arms and ammunition has gone up to 868 and 11,518, respectively. The Central Government appointed security advisor of the Manipur Government, Kuldeep Singh, informed the media on June 7.
“In Manipur, during the last 24 hours, 57 arms, 318 ammunition and five bombs have been recovered from Porompat police station in Imphal East and Sugnu police station in Kakching districts. A total of 868 arms and 11,518 ammunition have been recovered till date,” Security adviser Kuldeep Singh said in a statement.
It should be mentioned that mobs in violence-hit Manipur looted over 4,000 weapons, along with hand grenades and ammunition, creating a major security challenge for the security forces. These weapons were used in massive violence that has continued in Manipur since May 3.
Top-level police sources said that the weapons were looted in two phases. In the first phase, when violence erupted on May 3. After the armed Kuki militants attacked civilians with sophisticated weapons, angry mobs looted around 1,600 weapons from various police stations and State armour depots, mainly from the hill districts.
During the last week of May, over 2,500 weapons were looted in the second phase. Most weapons were looted from police camps and armouries in the valley. Mobs looted sophisticated weapons such as assault rifles, INSAS rifles and even AK 47 rifles, along with grenades and mortar bombs.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his four days Manipur visit from May 29, appealed the public to surrender the looted weapons to restore peace and normalcy in the violence-hit State. After the appeal of the Union Home Minister, around 150 weapons were surrendered by different rebel groups within a day. Security forces recovered similar numbers of weapons during combing operations launched after the visit of the Home Minister.
Meanwhile, curfew relaxation has been made for 12 hours in five valley districts, including the capital city Imphal. In the hill districts, the curfew has been relaxed from 8 to 10 hours. There is no curfew in six other hill districts. On the other hand, the Government of Manipur has decided to extend the ban on the internet till June 12.
Meanwhile, a good news is coming from the trouble-torn Manipur. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2023 for entrance to MBBS/BDS courses was conducted on June 6 at 22 centres. The entrance exam was conducted at 12 centres in Imphal West and 10 centres in the Imphal East districts. Officials said that the examination was conducted peacefully and, most importantly, the students’ attendance was normal. Educationists of the State congratulate the students who, after much trouble, sit for the national level exam in a peaceful manner.
On the other hand, the movement of essential goods along NH-37 takes place after a long haul. A total of 244 empty trucks left Imphal for Jiribam on June 7 after unloading essential goods in the capital city. Besides this, 212 loaded vehicles left Noney and 212 loaded tankers and trucks left Jiribam for Imphal carrying essential goods and other items to the trouble-hit State.
As per the decision taken in the meeting held during the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, ministers of the Manipur Government and MLAs of the State are visiting different trouble-hit areas and meeting with civil societies and different groups and appealing for peace and normalcy.
Security forces, including Indian Army, Assam Rifles ,CAPF and State police, are also organising meetings with civil society organisations and various village heads and appealing to restore peace. Besides that, the security forces are conducting operations like area domination and patrolling etc., the statement issued by security adviser Kuldeep Singh reads.
It should be mentioned that violence broke out in Manipur during a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organised in the hill districts by the tribal students union on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Over 100 people have lost their lives, and more than 310 people, including an MLA and several security personnel, were injured in the violence continuing for over a month. 4,1014 numbers of arson cases were registered during the violence, and over 35000 people were displaced in the clashes.
