Guwahati: Manipur’s Governor, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, has called on everyone in the state to return any stolen or illegal weapons they have. He promised that if these weapons are handed over within the next seven days, no one will be punished for returning them.
For over 20 months, Manipur has faced lots of violence that has harmed many people. Recently, President’s rule was imposed in the state. The Governor said, “All communities, both in the Valley and the Hills, have suffered a lot from ongoing conflicts. To bring back peace and let people return to their daily lives, we all need to work together.”
He specifically asked young people from all communities to bring back any weapons they have to their local police stations, outposts, or security camps. He emphasized that returning these weapons would be a strong step toward restoring peace. “If you act now, you won’t have to worry about getting in trouble. But after the seven days, actions will be taken against anyone who still has these weapons,” he added.
The government has previously requested people to return weapons, but not many did. About 6,000 weapons were taken during the chaos, mostly from valley districts. A security advisor had mentioned that around 2,681 have been recovered, but only 1,200 out of those were from the looted ones. Since the violence began between the Kuki-Zo tribals and the non-tribal Meiteis on May 3, 2023, at least 258 people have died, and many others have been hurt. Over 60,000 individuals have had to leave their homes and are living in relief camps across different districts.
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