MORE than 140 weapons have been surrendered in different places in Manipur after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s appeal a day ago, sources said on Friday. Shah, on the last day of his four-day visit to Manipur on Thursday, appealed to all concerned to surrender their weapons to the security forces and administration. He had also warned that a search-and-combing operation would be carried out in the State soon and anyone found to possess any weapon would be prosecuted. After the Home Minister’s appeal in Imphal, more than 140 weapons have been surrendered till Friday morning, sources said. They said the situation in Manipur was by and large peaceful in most districts and sporadic incidents of firing at or torching of empty houses by miscreants were becoming rare now as coordinated effort was made by different security agencies. The surrendered weapons included self-loading rifles, carbine, AK and INSAS rifles, light machine guns, pistols, M16 rifles, smoke gun/tear gas, sten gun and grenade launcher.

 

At least 98 people lost their lives and 310 others were injured in the ethnic violence in Manipur that broke out a month ago, the Government said in a statement on Friday. A total of 37,450 people are in 272 relief camps at present, said the statement, issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). In all, 4,014 cases of arson have been reported since the violence broke out in the state on May 3, it said. Over the last one month, the state police has registered 3,734 cases and arrested 65 people for their involvement in the violence, the statement said. Ethnic clashes broke out in the northeastern state on May 3 after a “Tribal Solidarity March” was organised in the state’s hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. After a relative lull for over a fortnight, the State witnessed a spurt in clashes and gunfights on Sunday. The Home Minister had also said an Inter-Agency Unified Command would be formed for “better coordination” among all security agencies in Manipur as multiple forces were working on the ground.