Manipur: In largest surrender, Meitei group returns huge cache of looted weapons

Manipur governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla’s seven-day deadline given on February 20 to surrender arms and ammunition stolen from state armouries reaped results on Thursday (February 27), as the Meitei militia group, Arambai Tenggol, turned in a huge cache of 246 weapons to security forces in Imphal.

The radical armed group who arrived in vehicles stacked with weapons surrendered them at the 1st Battalian Manipur Rifles complex in Imphal West.

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This mass surrender of weapons came two days after a meeting was held between the governer and the Arambai Tenggol at Raj Bhavan. It is reportedly the largest surrender of illegally held weapons in the strife-torn state till date.

A senior police official said more such looted arms and ammunition are likely to be returned to the authorities in the coming days. The returned arms include AK series rifles, carbines, self-loading rifles, single-barrel rifles and mortars.

Governor’s deadline

On February 20, Bhalla had appealed to all the communities in Manipur to surrender the weapons stolen from the state’s armoury to the nearest security establishments within seven days.

He said no punitive action will be taken against those who surrender weapons but strict action will be taken against those who continue to have harbour weapons.

According to the numbers cited in the Manipur police’s report, 61 weapons were surrendered in other parts of the state as well.

Also read: Meitei group seeks more time to surrender illegal weapons in Manipur

Until Thursday, in total, around 110 weapons had been surrendered from the hill districts of Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Pherzawl, and Jiribam with the Indian Army present and 40 more surrendered in the Valley, since the governor’s announcement to the Manipur public.

Strong request

In a statement on Thursday, the Manipur police said that the voluntary surrender of weapons, especially by the youth will “significantly help in restoring peace, communal harmony and lawfulness in the state”.

They added that as Thursday marked the deadline of the seven-day period granted for the voluntary surrender of weapons, all the concerned youth are ‘strongly requested’ to come forward and surrender any looted or illegal firearms.

They further emphasised that together everyone can work towards a “safer and more secure future of Manipur”.

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Kuki-Zo groups dismiss arms surrender

Kuki-Zo groups, Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) and Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) issued a joint statement to dismiss the surrender of arms by the Arambai Tenggol. They condemned their meeting with the governor and alleged that their move to surrender weapons was just to ‘garner sympathy’.

In their statement they said that the submission of the illegal weapons by the Arambai Tenggol was a ‘mere gesture’. They backed this up by mentioning that this is only 5 per cent of the 6,000 looted arms from the Imphal valley, and that this move was strategically made to improve their public image and garner sympathy and legitimacy.

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The Kuki-Zo groups went on to say that the Arambai Tenggol was responsible for the alleged ethnic cleansing of 230 people of the Kuki-Zo community, and the displacement of over 40,000. Further, they added that they had caused severe property damage with the “burning of more than 7,000 houses and 360 places of worship.”

“The governor’s meeting with Arambai Tenggol sends a disturbing message that the state is willing to negotiate with perpetrators of violence while ignoring the cries of their victims. This is a clear betrayal of justice and a direct insult to the survivors of ethnic violence," the statement read.

Weapons seized from state armouries

Meanwhile, according to the Security Advisor, Kuldeep Singh, in September 2024, only 1,200 of the 6,000 looted weapons were recovered by security force operations, while the rest continue to be in circulation.

After the conflict between the ethnic groups of Manipur broke out in May 2023, around 6,000 weapons were looted from the state armouries and sporadic attempts are still being made to seize weapons from these armouries.

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The former Chief Minister of Manipur, Biren Singh had also appealed for the return of weapons multiple times, as did the Union home minister, Amit Shah, in 2023.

However, despite the multiple appeals in the past, it is the first time since President’s rule has been imposed in Manipur, the stolen weapons are being returned by the militia groups to the state.