Guwahati: Security forces in Manipur, while conducting different search operations in the fringe and vulnerable areas of the crisis-hit state on Thursday (October 19), have seized a huge cache of arms, ammunition, and war-like stores. Extensive search operations were carried out by the security forces in the state’s Kakching, Bishnupur, Imphal East, and Churachandpur districts. During these operations, the security forces recovered a huge cache of arms, ammunition, and war-like stores from Wakan, Shantipur, and Khamenlok ridges, under the jurisdiction of Sagolmang police station, in Imphal East district.



The recovered arms include 36 AK-47 and three AK-56 assault rifles, one 51mm mortar, one modified Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL), two improvised rocket launchers, one improvised rifle, four .303 rifles, seven 7.62mm Self-Loading Rifles (SLR), four carbine machine guns, one MP-5 submachine gun, one lathode launcher, eight improvised guns (locally known as pumpi) and one country-made revolver.


Moreover, the security forces recovered a total of 1,615 ammunition and explosives, which include 920 live rounds of INSAS rifle bullets, 38 fired cases of INSAS rifle, 28 live rounds of Colt Machine Gun (CMG) bullets, 44 fired cases of 7.62mm SLR, eighty two 36 hand grenades, 72 live rounds of 12 bore gun bullets,  50 HD cart cartridge, 40 arming rings, three mortar caps, 55 mortar bombs, one mortar smoke, 24  Willie Pete (WP) hand grenades, 32 detonators, three tube launching rifle grenades, three 75 Mk II hand grenades, two 7.62mm tracers, 126 live rounds of 7.62mm bore gun bullets, 35 live rounds of .303 rifle bullets, 20 live rounds of country-made pistol bullets, 38 live rounds of .9mm pistol bullets and one live round of 7.62mm SLR bullet.


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The security forces also recovered as many as 132 accessories of weapons, which include 77 tube launchers, three magazines of AK-47 rifle, one rocket launcher container, four magazines of 9mm CMG, one sight mounting bracket, six magazines each of INSAS and SLR, two magazines of .303 rifle, three helmets, 12 Bullet Proof Jacket (BPJ) plates, six BPJ vests, two walkie-talkie sets, two black belts, two khaki shirts and five firecrackers.


The Manipur government on September 22 this year set a deadline of 15 days asking people in possession of illegal weapons to surrender them, failing which, both the Central and state security forces will undertake “strong and comprehensive” search operations across the state to recover such weapons and anyone found possessing illegal weapons will be dealt with severely as per the law.


The writer is a senior independent journalist covering the Northeast.


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