Won't Deposit Licenced Arms, Need For Defence: Kuki-Zo Group In Manipur Ahead Of Elections
NDTV
District magistrates in Manipur and other states had issued orders informing the public to hand over their licenced guns to the police, to be returned after the polls, following the Election Commission's model code
A Kuki-Zo civil society organisation that is spearheading the call for a separate administration carved out of Manipur has asked members of their tribes not to give their licenced guns to police stations for safe-keeping ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, citing safety concerns amid the ethnic tensions with the valley-majority Meiteis.
District magistrates in Manipur and other states had issued orders informing the public to hand over their licenced guns to the police, to be returned after the polls, following the Election Commission's model code, and to ensure compliance with the Representation of the People Act which bans civilians from carrying guns in and around polling booths.
The Kuki-Zo group Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) in a statement said licenced guns submitted last year have not been returned yet. "We need every available weapon to defend our 'right to life' and our land..." the ITLF said in the statement signed by its chairman Pagin Haokip, and secretary Muan Tombing.
