Manipur: Zomi and Kuki communities voluntarily surrender looted police weapons post Governor's appeal

Imphal (Manipur) [India], February 22 (ANI): Zomi and Kuki community members surrendered 16 rifles and ammunition in Manipur's Churachandpur district on Saturday following the appeal of Manipur Governor on Thursday.
Governor of Manipur, Ajay Kumar Bhalla on February 20 appealed to members of all communities to surrender looted police weapons and illegally held arms within seven days. He said if the weapons were not surrendered, strict action would follow for possession of arms.
Post this appeal, Assam Rifles along with Police, CRPF, State Intelligence Agencies and State Administration engaged with local Zomi & Kuki community leaders, addressed their security concerns, provided assurances of safety, and emphasised the positive impact of the region's de-weaponization. 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 Governments' stance from the start.
Post the discussions with the joint security forces and State Administration, the Zomi & 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 includes total of 16 weapons to mention, One M-16 Rifle, One 7.62 mm SLR, 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, 64 Gelatine Sticks, Ten rounds of 60 mm Pumpi (improvised Mortar) ammunition, 17 rounds of AK ammunition, 40 rounds of 5.56 mm Rifle ammunition and three 9 mm Calibre ammunition, from Zomi and Kuki community in presence of top rank officials of Assam Rifles, CRPF, State Civil Administration, Police and State Intelligence Agencies of Churachandpur District.
An all rounded effort was planned meticulously by joint forces to include Assam Rifles, Police, State Civil Administration, CRPF and State Intelligence Agencies will result to motivate other groups as well to further the peace process thus inspiring & motivating youth to surrender arms and work towards a better future for overall development of the region there by enabling the peace process to bring halt to the ongoing conflict. (ANI)