AFSPA Extended Across Manipur, Barring 13 Police Stations; Security Forces Recover Cache Of Arms

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) has been extended across the entire state of Manipur, excluding 13 police station jurisdictions, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced on Sunday.

The MHA further stated that AFSPA has also been extended for six months to the districts of Tirap, Changlang, and Longding in Arunachal Pradesh, as well as three police station areas within the state.

Photo Credit: PTI

Manipur was placed under President's Rule, with the assembly placed in suspended animation on the evening of February 13.

This followed the resignation of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, creating a political vacuum in the state.

Singh, who had led the BJP government in Manipur since 2017, stepped down amid escalating tensions and nearly 21 months of ethnic unrest, which has claimed over 250 lives since May 2023.

AFSPA, which has been enforced in Manipur since the early 1980s, grants extensive powers to security forces to maintain law and order in regions classified as "disturbed areas". It has long been criticised for enabling excessive use of force and limited accountability.

Security forces recover arms during search operations

Security personnel carried out search operations and area domination exercises on Saturday in vulnerable hill and valley regions of Manipur, as reported by ANI.

During the operation, a cache of arms and ammunition was recovered.

According to a statement from Imphal Police, the recovered items included: one locally made rifle, one bolt action rifle, one .22 pistol, three locally fabricated mortars (measuring 6ft, 5ft and 4ft), one handmade grenade, one helmet, a wireless set with charger, one HE bomb, ten rounds of 5.56mm live ammunition, twelve empty cases of 7.62x39mm, four empty cases of 7.62x45mm, and 500 grams of gunpowder.

The items were seized from Thangjing Hill forest, located under the jurisdiction of Churachandpur Police Station in Churachandpur District.