By A Staff Reporter:
Manipur, IMPHAL, September 26: 114 militants including five women cadres of 11 different militant groups active in the state laid down their arms before the Chief Minister, state Home Minister, state DGP, Major General IGAR (S) and Principal Secretary (Home) at the IGAR South, Chardwar Hall today.
However unlike in the past such surrendering programmes, the PRO AR however refused to provide any identification or details about the allegedly surrendering militants and the arms they have surrendered. This time around, the media persons who were invited by the PRO AR were also denied to carry their mobile phones inside the hall.
Meanwhile, it may be mentioned that the surrendering programme has come amidst the recent spate of IED explosions triggered by militant outfits in the state.
According to a statement provided by the PRO IGAR, the surenderees are from the UNLF, PLA, KCP, KYKL, PREPAK, KNLF, UPRF, KNLA, UPPK, UNPC and PULF.
There were 18 cadres from the UNLF, 11 from the PLA, 9 from the KCP, 17 from the KYKL, 18 from PREPAK, 12 from KNLF, 1 from UPRF, 2 from KNLA, 6 from UPPK, 4 from UNPC and 16 from PULF.
The arms and ammunition surrendered today include AK 47 rifles, HK rifles, lathode gun, carbines, revolvers, pistols and two RT sets.
Meanwhile, it may be mentioned that on June 13, 2011, the Tehelka had reported that the Assam Rifles will be staging a surrendering program and parade poor youth in the fake surrendering drama.
The Tehelka report had said, “Around 45 youth from Thoubal, the home constituency of Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, will surrender before him on Tuesday, 14 June… ”.
It had also reported that the only problem is that they do not actually belong to the Azad Khan faction of the People’s United Liberation Front (PULF), as is being claimed. They are, in fact, daily-waged labourers, mechanics in tyres shops, rickshaw-pullers and over-ground collaborators. This fake surrender, not the first in the state by a long shot, will be accompanied by the laying down of 25 sophisticated arms, which were never actually in their possession.As was predicted by the Tehelka, 40 alleged cadres of a PULF faction led by its lea-der Umar Farooque and another alleged cadre of the KCP (Nando group) had surrendered during a ‘home-coming ceremony’ held at Hqs IG AR (South), Mantripukhri on June 14.
