Manipur's Election Security Concerns: Over 4,000 Firearms Seized, Links to Myanmar Suspected

NEW DELHI: With assembly elections scheduled to take place early next year in violence-torn Manipur, fresh security concerns have been flagged by ground forces, highlighting the seizure of more than 4,000 firearms, apart from those identified as looted police weapons, of which nearly 85 percent are already recovered. Officials in the security establishment, while confirming seizure of such weapons, said the supply chains are suspected to have links across the border in Myanmar and, in view of this, forces have been asked to recalibrate their security strategy in close coordination with the intelligence agencies. They said, in case of looted weapons, things are largely brought under control following a consistent multi-pronged strategy including appeals from high-ranking political and constitutional authorities, coordinated security and search operations based on intelligence inputs and community-level negotiations. As a follow-up to these, the officials said, recovered and surrendered weapons - ranging from assault rifles (AK-series, INSAS, M16) to mortars and grenades – have frequently been cataloged and publicly displayed by the administration to build accountability and pressure on remaining holders to comply. So far, the intelligence-based operations targeting illegal arms-smuggling networks and militant factions (such as arrests of UNLF-P cadres attempting to sell or move looted arms), have resulted in forcible recoveries of hidden or traded weapons, the officials said. According to the officials, the data show that 5,066 of the 6,020 weapons looted from police establishments have been recovered, accounting for 84.15 percent of the total, which means that 954 such weapons remain untraced, raising concerns over their possible use by militant groups and armed miscreants.