A mob has looted a total of 21 arms from Ukhrul Police Station, following exchange of gunfire between residents of Hungpung village and Hunphun village in Ukhrul town, Manipur during a clash in connection with a land dispute.
As per sources, the mob stormed the police station and managed to decamp with eight 9mm pistols, six INSAS rifles, three AK-47 rifles, two 9mm carbines, one SLR, and one Sten gun.
The mob also looted 340 INSAS rounds, 250 carbine rounds, 201 rounds of 9mm, 180 rounds of AK-47 and 10 rounds of SLR, totalling 981 rounds.
Meanwhile, Additional director general of police (law and order) L Kailun on Wednesday sent out a message to the senior superintendent of police of all districts and security officials concerned, alerting about the present law and order situation in the state.
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The message issued from the director general of police of Manipur stated that all officers, police stations, outposts, nakas, etc should remain on high alert, while instructing to ensure “proper security for arm and ammunition.”
Manipur has witnessed separate incidents of arms being looted from the state armories and police outposts following the violence that erupted in 2023.
In a press conference held on September 20, security advisor Kuldiep Singh had told the media that among the 6,000 arms looted in the state, a total of 2,681 weapons have been seized and recovered, he said. Of the recovered weapons, 1,200 were looted, while 1,400 were non-looted. Out of the 1,400, around 800 weapons are sophisticated, he said.
He also mentioned that three exploded rockets and one unfired rocket were among the seized weapons, and security forces are still searching for the manufacturing source.
In a recent interview, army chief Upendra Dwivedi said that about 25 per cent of the looted weapons have already been recovered, while twice as many weapons of local variety have also been recovered in the state.