Imphal, February 28- Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday extended the deadline for depositing illegal weapons looted from government armouries during the communal violence in the state and other illegal weapons till March 6 at 4 pm following a demand from people from both the hill and valley regions.
The statement read, “After the expiry of the seven-day deadline for voluntary surrender of weapons, requests have been received from both the valley and hill regions for extension of this period. I have considered these requests and have decided to extend the deadline till March 6 at 4 pm.”
It has been said that no punitive action will be taken against those who deposit their weapons within this period. Bhalla had on February 20 appealed to the militant groups to voluntarily surrender the weapons and other illegal weapons looted from the security forces within seven days, the deadline of which expired on Thursday. Notably, over 300 weapons were surrendered by the public during the seven-day period.