85 per cent of weapons looted from police armouries recovered in Manipur

Security forces have achieved significant success in recovering weapons looted from police armouries during the ongoing conflict in Manipur. According to a News18 report, security forces have recovered approximately 85 per cent of the looted weapons. Available figures show that a total of 6,020 weapons were looted from police armouries, of which 5,066 weapons have been recovered so far. This figure represents a recovery rate of approximately 84.15 per cent, or nearly 85 per cent.

However, 954 looted police weapons remain untraced and are still missing. Speaking with News18, a senior police officer stated that most of the recovered weapons are not just the looted ones, but include some old weapons as well as some highly modern or modified weapons.

The most concerning aspect of this operation is that, besides the weapons looted from police establishments, security forces have seized another 4,062 weapons. The seizure of such a large number of additional weapons, beyond those looted, has once again drawn attention to the proliferation of illegal arms in the state and the networks operating for them. The number of these seized weapons indicates the severity of illegal arms possession in the state and suggests that the number of weapons currently used by militant groups and miscreants could be very high, contributing to the atmosphere of tension in the state.

According to claims by high-ranking officials, most of these weapons are supplied from Myanmar and can be easily identified. The recovery of thousands of additional weapons has raised important questions about their origin, procurement routes, and supply channels. Investigators will now attempt to establish whether these weapons entered the state through cross-border networks linked to Myanmar, whether they were previously circulated old weapons, or if they came from other sources.

Given the international border security concerns and the potential movement of weapons through routes that are difficult to monitor, the Myanmar connection is extremely significant. However, independent verification through forensic examination, serial number tracing, and intelligence probes will be required to confirm the origin of the recovered weapons.

During various raids, police have also recovered US and Russia-made weapons, including M16A1 and AK series guns. The recovery of a large number of modern firearms, automatic weapons, ammunition, and other military-grade equipment in various security operations highlights the ongoing challenge of curbing the proliferation of weapons in the state.

Manipur Police and other security forces, occasionally with the help of special forces, are conducting an average of half a dozen raids to recover weapons.