Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday further extended by one week the time given for the return of looted and illegal weapons and ammunition to the security forces. Bhalla warned that later \”strict legal action would be taken as per law for possession of such arms and ammunition\” till February 27 over 610 looted and illegally-held weapons, including many sophisticated arms and a huge cache of ammunition, were returned to security forces since the Governor made the appeal for the first time on February 20. Police officials said that various groups including the radical Meitei group Arambai Tenggol and youth volunteers, community leaders, civil society organisations and women organisations, have played a significant role in returning looted, illegal arms. The security forces, so far, have recovered a substantial number of the looted arms. More than 6,000 different types of sophisticated arms were looted from police stations and outposts by the mobs and radical outfits since May 3, 2023, according to various reports.
