Imphal, April 18 (IANS) Three top Army officers on Friday, in a meeting with Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, discussed the prevailing law and order situation in the state and the northeastern region, an official said.
According to an official, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Eastern Command, Lt. Gen. Ram Chander Tiwari along with GOC Spear Corps, Lt. Gen. Abhijit S. Pendharkar and Inspector General of Assam Rifles (South) Maj. Gen. Ravroop Singh met the Governor at Raj Bhavan here.
“The Army officers briefed the Governor on the prevailing security situation of Manipur and the other states in the northeastern region,” he said.
Meanwhile, seven BJP MLAs also met the Manipur Governor and urged him to ensure the recovery of the looted and illegally held arms must be further intensified in hill areas of the state.
BJP legislator Kh Ibomcha, who was part of the MLAs’ delegation, said they also requested the Governor to accelerate the peace talks between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal communities.
The MLAs urged Bhalla to take stern actions against those who are involved in provocative acts and making offensive comments against various communities, he told the media.
The BJP MLAs also appreciated the Governor’s appeal to the people of the state to voluntarily surrender looted and illegally held arms and ammunition.
Though there was a positive response to the arms surrender call, many arms and ammunition were still kept by the people in the hill areas, though numerous people in the valley areas returned the arms and ammunition to the security forces.
Till March 6, around 1,000 looted and illegally held weapons, including many sophisticated arms, and a huge cache of ammunition, have been returned to the security forces since Governor Bhalla made the appeal for the first time on February 20.
Meanwhile, Assam Rifles launched an operation in the Kampang Khullen area in Tengnoupal district intercepting 23 trucks illegally transporting timber without valid transit permits.
A Defence spokesman said that the operation aimed to curb illegal smuggling of forest produce, a major funding source for Valley Based Insurgent Groups (VBIGs).
Drivers were detained after failing to produce valid documentation, and the trucks along with the timber were seized.
The Forest Department was informed and conducted a field verification. Following a written correspondence from the District Forest Office, the trucks were released on Thursday.
According to forest officials, the seized timber was valued at approximately Rs 14.28 lakh. Assam Rifles remains committed to countering illegal activities and safeguarding the region’s natural resources, a Defence release said.
–IANS
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