Manipur: Security forces recover arms and ammunition looted from armories and police stations of the strife-torn state

In three combing operations over the past month in Manipur, a state plagued by ethnic conflict, security forces have recovered weapons and ammunition, including 1085 bombs, stolen from police stations and armories, a defense ministry spokesperson confirmed on Friday.

Three significant operations were carried out in the Khamenlok-Gwalthabi, Wakan, and Shantipur ridges, according to a statement from the Kohima (Nagaland)-based spokesperson. The statement further stated that 8 automatic guns, 1085 bombs, 14 homemade mortars and rocket launchers, 6 rifles and pistols, one mortar, 530 various rounds of ammunition, and 132 other war-like supplies were handed over to the Manipur Police on Thursday.

According to the statement, the villages of the Meitei and tribal Kuki communities in Imphal East district are divided by the Khamenlok-Gwalthabi, Wakan, and Shantipur ridges. Intelligence sources suggested that there had been a buildup of guns, ammo, and other warlike store stockpiles on either side of the ridges. The caches were likely created by rival groups planning misadventures in each other's territory. The statement further stated that the security services "took notice of the intelligence inputs and conducted extensive surveillance and began several search operations to retrieve as much war-like stock as possible in an effort to forestall any attempts of firing or arson by miscreants.”

At least 175 people have died and 50,000 displaced as a result of the ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki groups, which began on May 3. Officials reported that rioters broke into police stations and armories and stole 5669 different kinds of weapons and about 500,000 rounds of ammunition. Only about 1300 of them were found till the first week of October. The Army, Manipur Police, Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, and India Reserve Battalion participated in the combing operations.