At least 35 weapons, ammunition recovered in violence-hit Manipur on 2nd day of joint operation by security forces

Security Forces conducted Joint Combing Operations for the second consecutive day in the Hills and Valley Sector of Manipur on Thursday, an official statement said.

Operations were conducted by adopting a people-friendly approach including announcements for voluntarily surrendering of illegal arms prior to search of specific areas.

The presence of magistrates along with the columns is being ensured during search operations in non-AFSPA areas. Today 35 weapons (all types), ammunition and warlike stores were recovered, the statement added.

Domination of NH 37 to ensure incident-free movement of essential goods to and from Manipur was carried out as part of the ongoing combing operations.

Sustained confidence-building measures, a people-centric approach and initiating measures to alleviate the hardships are the lines on which Security Forces are relentlessly working to ensure the de-escalation of tensions and an early return to normalcy, the statement further said.

During the conduct of combing operations, adequate measures are being undertaken to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to the local population.

On Wednesday, security forces seized automatic weapons and recovered warlike stores during a joint combing operation in sensitive areas both in the Hills and Valley sectors following violence in the state.

“29 weapons (mostly automatic), mortar, hand grenades, ammunition and warlike stores were recovered by security forces during joint combing operations in Manipur on June 7,” Spear Corps of the Indian Army said in a tweet.

Security forces deployed in the troubled state launched a joint operation on Wednesday to comb out weapons and ammunition hidden away by miscreants.

“Operations were conducted across Manipur in both Valley and Hill areas under the cover of UAV and Quadcopters,” it further said in another tweet.

Notably, during home minister Amit Shah’s recent visit to Manipur, he appealed to the public to hand over all weapons and ammunition to the administration for maintaining peace and order.

The appeal came with a warning about a ‘search-and-combing operation’ plan, which also mentioned that anyone found to possess weapons during the operation would be prosecuted.

Earlier in the day, advisor (Security) to the Manipur government Kuldeep Singh said that a total of 868 arms and 11,518 pieces of ammunition have been recovered to date from different areas in violence-hit Manipur.

He also said a total of 57 arms, 318 ammunition, and 5 bombs were also seized by the authorities in the last 24 hours.

The recoveries of arms and ammunition were made from Porompat Police Station in Imphal East and Sugnu police station in the Kakching districts of Manipur.

Singh said curfew has been relaxed for 12 hours in five valley districts and for 10 hours and 8 hours in neighbouring hill districts of Manipur.

“There is no curfew in six other hill districts. Movement of essential items along NH-37 is ensured. 244 empty vehicles have left Imphal for Jiribam today. A total of 212 loaded vehicles have left Noney and 212 loaded tankers and trucks left Jiribam today,” said Singh, who was appointed the security advisor to the Manipur government at the beginning of May in view of the spiralling violence in Manipur.

“The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2023 for entrance to MBBS/BDS Course was conducted yesterday (June 6, 2023) at 22 centres (12 in Imphal West and 10 in Imphal East),” former Central Reserve Police Force chief said, adding, the examination was conducted in a peaceful manner and the attendance was normal.”

He further mentioned that ministers and MLAs of the state are visiting different areas in Manipur and appealing for peace.