Manipur Director General of Police Mukesh Singh announced on 14 June that approximately 70 per cent of the weapons looted during the state's ethnic violence have been recovered, with security forces intensifying operations to trace the remaining arms and ammunition. Singh, who assumed charge as Manipur's police chief on 1 June, issued a firm warning to those still in illegal possession of firearms.

Stern Warning to Illegal Arms Holders

'Police and other security forces will deal very strictly with those who are still holding arms and ammunition illegally. We will take stern action against them as per the law, and they will be arrested at any cost,' DGP Singh told the media in Imphal. He further warned that anyone who fires upon or attacks security personnel on duty will face severe legal consequences. Search operations and proactive security measures are set to be intensified across multiple districts until normalcy is fully restored.

Scale of the Original Looting

The recovery drive traces its origins to the ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur on 3 May 2023, when mobs, armed attackers and militants looted more than 6,000 sophisticated weapons of various categories and several lakh rounds of ammunition from police stations, outposts and security force armouries across the state. Efforts to reclaim these weapons began on 31 May 2023, when former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh first appealed to all concerned to surrender firearms. The campaign gained fresh momentum after Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla issued a renewed appeal urging voluntary surrender of illegally held weapons.

Ground-Level Security Review

In the two days preceding his statement, DGP Singh visited Imphal East, Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts, holding a series of meetings with senior police officers, Army personnel and officials of various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to review the law-and-order situation, crime trends and operational preparedness. Singh, who previously served as Director General of Police in Ladakh, chaired a coordination meeting with Commanding Officers of the Army and CAPFs, with special emphasis placed on securing vulnerable fringe areas during the ongoing farming season.

Crackdown on Misinformation

Addressing the spread of rumours, the DGP urged citizens not to circulate false or misleading content on social media. 'We have a social media monitoring cell which takes action against those spreading false and motivated information that can lead to inter-community conflict. We are proactively engaging with such cases and taking down sites and platforms that are anti-social or anti-national,' Singh said. The Manipur Police have been regularly appealing to all concerned to return looted arms, ammunition and explosives to the nearest police or security force establishment.

Broader Priorities: IDPs, Drugs, and Coordination

According to a police statement, DGP Singh underscored the need for impartiality, neutrality and professionalism in policing, and stressed the importance of secure and sustainable resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) affected by the ethnic violence. He directed officers to ensure expeditious investigation and disposal of cases handled by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), and called for sustained counter-insurgency and anti-drug operations. During interactions with representatives of various Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Singh took note of public concerns and encouraged dialogue, peace and communal harmony across the state. With roughly 30 per cent of looted weapons still unaccounted for, the recovery drive remains a critical benchmark for restoring lasting security in Manipur.