Manipur militants turn part of 6,000 looted guns into long-range sniper rifles: Officials

New Delhi/Imphal, July 14:  Ethnic insurgent groups from both the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur are modifying looted weapons to create makeshift sniper rifles, significantly enhancing their range and lethality, officials said on Sunday.

Many of the firearms were stolen from police armouries during the 2023 unrest. Among the over 6,000 looted weapons were .303 rifles, AK-series assault rifles, INSAS rifles, and carbines.

According to officials, standard .303 rifles, which have an effective kill range of around 500 metres, are being altered by adding telescopic sights and adjusting the gun’s butt and other components—allowing them to shoot more accurately over greater distances. These modifications aim to convert them into improvised sniper rifles capable of targeting opposing communities from afar.

The AK-47, typically effective within a 300–400 metre range, is also being modified in some cases.

Security forces, including the police, Assam Rifles, and other paramilitary units, have since recovered several of these altered weapons from different parts of the Imphal valley and hill districts, potentially preventing a serious escalation in long-range violence.

In June, Manipur Police and other security forces recovered 328 weapons during simultaneous operations across five districts of the Imphal Valley on the intervening night of June 13 and 14 from Meitei dominated insurgent groups and 203 arms in first week of July from four districts in the hill areas where Kuki insurgent groups have an upper hand.

The weapons recovered from these two raids included INSAS rifles, AK series rifles, Self Loading Rifle, modified sniper rifles, grenade launchers, pistols and country-made 0.22 rifle.

Immediately after clashes broke out in 2023 between the two communities that have claimed 260 lives so far, security agencies had seized guns fabricated from parts of uprooted electric poles or galvanised iron (GI) pipes.

After the clashes turned bloodier in June 2023, the people of the hill district, who are traditionally hunters and have the ability to improvise and make deadly weapons, uprooted some electric poles and water pipes.

This community traditionally used swords, spears, bows and arrows. Later, they started using muzzle guns and bullets also known as ‘Thihnang’.

The uprooted electric poles were used to manufacture indigenous cannon, also known as ‘pumpi’ or ‘bampi’, filled with scrap iron and other metallic items which act as bullets or pellets.

These are manufactured by village blacksmiths, also known as ‘Thih-Kheng Pa’ who often render free service to defend their community, the officials said.

The hill community is also known for its techniques in guerrilla warfare and often defends itself by carrying out sudden attacks on approaching people or ambushing them by rolling down huge stones in steep areas.

The electric pole converted ‘bampi’ is given an electric charge and is operated from a distance as the possibility of the pipe or the electric pole bursting in the middle cannot be ruled out, the officials said.

PTI