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Imphal, February 22: In the wake of Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla's appeal, the return of looted arms and ammunition continued in the state with 16 sophisticated weapons and a large cache of ammunition being returned at Tuibong village in the state's tribal-dominated Churachandpur district on Today.
A defence spokesman said that after the Governor’s appeal, the Assam Rifles, along with the Manipur Police, the CRPF, state intelligence agencies, and civil administration, engaged with local Kuki-Zo community leaders and addressed their security concerns, provided assurances of safety, and emphasised the positive impact of the region’s de-weaponizatio & 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 beginning.
The spokesman said that they voluntarily surrendered looted and illegal weapons and ammunition including an M-16 rifle, a 7.62 mm SLR, two AK series rifles, three INSAS rifles, two M-79 40mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL), a 9mm Carbine Machine Gun, a 51 mm mortar, three .303 rifles, and two single-barrel rifles.
Among the ammunition returned were 64 gelatine sticks, 10 rounds of 60 mm pumpi (improvised mortar) ammunition, 17 rounds of AK ammunition, 40 rounds of 5.56 mm rifle ammunition, and three rounds of 9 mm ammunition.
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