Imphal: Manipur chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Wednesday appealed to people in both the hills and the valley who still possess illegal weapons to surrender them within 15 days, warning that those who fail to surrender and are later apprehended by security forces will face legal action.He made the appeal at an event at 1st Manipur Rifles Parade Ground in Imphal, where arms, ammunition and explosives recovered by security forces and law-enforcement agencies were displayed. The recoveries were made from Feb 5, a day after Khemchand and his council of ministers took oath, till Tuesday. The recovered items, which included 1,422 arms, 7,010 rounds of ammunition and 1,137 explosives, were displayed.Khemchand said the presence of firearms remained a threat to peace in the state, saying that even a single bullet could trigger a fresh cycle of violence. He urged those holding illegal weapons to surrender them to local MLAs or police and called on all sections of society to cooperate with the govt’s peace and security initiatives.The CM said the crisis that began on May 3, 2023, had severely affected Manipur, creating divisions among communities and restricting normal movement and interaction between people. He said the situation had gradually shown signs of improvement. He also appreciated the role of security forces in recovering weapons and explosives and in preventing further escalation of violence.On the sidelines of the event, Manipur DGP Mukesh Singh said around 85% of the arms taken from police armouries have been recovered so far. He said efforts are on to recover the remaining arms. Referring to CM’s appeal, he expressed hope that all concerned would surrender illegally held weapons within the 15-day window.The DGP said extortion along the highways has been largely brought under control and assured that remaining incidents would be controlled soon.
