Imphal, Sep 1 (IANS) The security forces in Manipur have arrested two members of ‘Arambai Tenggol’, a radical group of the Meitei community, and three militants and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from different districts during the past 24 hours, officials said.

An official said that Manipur Police arrested the two from Imphal West district. Both are residents of Thoubal district, and have been identified as Laishram Tondomba Singh (27) and Tourangbam Amarjit Meitei (20), alias Yaima.

They were involved in possession of illegal arms for the purpose of weapon trafficking and for committing prejudicial activities, the official said.

Police recovered seven HK33 Rifles, two M4A1 Carbine guns, two GLOCK .45 auto pistols and a large quantity of different types of ammunition from their possession.

Meanwhile, responding to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla’s appeal for the surrender of looted and illegally held weapons, ‘Arambai Tenggol’ members returned 246 weapons, mostly sophisticated, at the First Manipur Rifle Campus in Imphal on February 27.

The official said that the security forces have arrested three hardcore militants of the banned People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) from Imphal East and Imphal West districts. Some Aadhaar cards and incriminating documents were recovered from the arrested militants’ possession.

The security forces also recovered a large cache of different types of ammunition from Imphal West District. The ammunition includes three high-powered grenades and 53 rounds of different calibres.

The security forces also arrested four drug smugglers from Churachandpur and Tengnoupal district and recovered brown sugar contained in 24 soap cases and 3.38 kg of highly addictive methamphetamine tablets from their possession.

Officials suspect that the drugs were smuggled from Myanmar, which shares a 398 km unfenced border with Manipur.

The official said that security forces continue to conduct search operations and area domination in the fringe and vulnerable areas across districts. A total of 113 Nakas/Checkpoints were installed in different districts of Manipur, both in the hills and the valley areas. However, none were detained by police at the Nakas/Checkpoints during the past 24 hours.

Manipur Police have once again cautioned people against spreading rumours and fake videos and appealed to them not to believe in rumours and remain vigilant about fake videos. The veracity of any videos, audio clips, etc., can be confirmed by the Central Control Room, a police statement said.

The police said that there are possibilities of many fake posts being circulated on social media. “It is hereby cautioned that uploading and circulation of such fake posts on social media would attract legal action with consequences. Further, an appeal is made to the public to return the looted arms, ammunition and explosives to the police or nearest security forces immediately,” the statement said.

–IANS

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