Guwahati, Feb 3: More than 90 illegal and looted firearms have been surrendered in Manipur following Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla’s decision to extend the deadline for voluntary disarmament.

The extension, granted after demands from both hill and valley communities, now allows citizens to surrender weapons until March 6 at 4 pm.

On Sunday alone, 20 firearms were turned in across four districts—Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, and Jiribam.

A day earlier, 42 weapons and cartridges were surrendered in five districts, including Churachandpur and Tamenglong, which have been affected by ethnic unrest.

Similarly, on Friday, 33 different types of firearms, along with ammunition and other items, were voluntarily handed over by civilians.

The disarmament process has seen significant response since the state government issued a notice on February 20, urging people to return weapons stolen from security forces or held illegally.

Between February 20 and 27, a total of 104 firearms and ammunition were surrendered across six districts, including Kangpokpi, Thoubal, and Kakching.

A major breakthrough occurred on the last day of the seven-day period when top leaders of the Meitei group Arambai Tenggol, along with civilians, surrendered over 300 weapons at the Banquet Hall of the 1st Manipur Rifles in Imphal.

The move came a day after the group outlined its terms for disarmament that included border fencing and implementation of NRC with 1951 as the base year, deportation of illegal immigrants, withdrawal of ST status from undocumented settlers and Amendment of Manipur Land Records & Land Revenue Act, 1960, among others.

This is the second such appeal for surrendering illegal arms in recent months. In September 2023, under former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s leadership, a similar 15-day window was provided for voluntary disarmament.