New Delhi: Manipur governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday (February 28) extended the deadline to surrender looted and illegal weapons until 4pm on March 6.
The order was issued on Friday after the end of the seven-day ultimatum by Bhalla on February 20 for voluntarily surrendering the weapons which were looted in the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.
Prior to the extension of the deadline, 246 weapons were surrendered on Thursday (February 27) by the Meitei group Arambai Tenggol at the 1st Manipur Rifles campus, reported Hindustan Times.
Ever since the ethnic conflict began in Manipur in 2023, mobs have looted thousands of weapons from state armouries, police stations and outposts.
However, despite the Governor’s appeal to the state’s public for surrendering the weapons, only 2,500 of the 6,000 looted weapons have been recovered till now.
“Upon the expiry of the seven-day deadline for the voluntary surrender of arms, there have been requests from both the valley and hill areas to extend the period. I have considered these requests and decided to extend the deadline until 4pm on March 6,” said a press statement from the Manipur administration on Friday.
