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Thirty-one cadres, including women, of different valley based underground groups laid down their arms before Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Wednesday at a ‘Homecoming Ceremony’ held at the Banquet Hall of 1st Battalion, Manipur Rifles, Imphal.
The 31 cadres included 17 cadres, including four women, from KCP (PWG), 7 cadres from PREPAK, 4 cadres from UNLF and 3 cadres from KYKL.
Their surrendered weapons including one M-16 Rifle, one M-4 carbine, one Lathod gun, one Single Barrel Rifle, 11 Pistols and one 12 mm bore pistol along with five cartridges, three lathod shells, one IED and three live rounds.
Addressing the ceremony, N Biren Singh said, “This is the trust or faith towards the central and state governments that more and more militant outfits are back again to the mainstream.”
He recalled Union home minister Amit Shah’s words and said, “No FIR will be registered and not a single bullet will be fired when militant outfits are surrendering.”
Under the Revised Scheme for Surrender-Cum-Rehabilitation of Militants in the North East State, 2018 of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, rehabilitation benefits given to the surrendered cadres include a one-time financial grant of ₹4 lakh to each surrenderer, which has to be kept in a bank in their names as a fixed deposit for a period of three years, monthly stipends of ₹6000 per person, and incentives for the surrendered weapons. The surrenderers will stay in a rehabilitation camp for three years.
Wednesday’s Home Coming Ceremony at 1st Manipur Rifles banquet hall was attended by council of ministers, MLAs, director general of police (DGP), P Doungel, chief secretary Rajesh Kumar and top brass from the Army and the Assam Rifles.
P Doungel confirmed that so far 788 cadres from different outfits have joined the mainstream through various rehabilitation schemes.
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