About 42,000 Cross-Border Entrants Documented in Manipur Since December 2024: Assam Rifles DG
Ex-Manipur CM Biren Singh says influx of outsiders from Myanmar 'real' and 'ongoing'
Guwahati: The Director General of Assam Rifles, Lt. Gen. Vikas Lakhera, has revealed that security forces have documented about 42,000 people entering Manipur from across the Myanmar border since December 21 last year.
Asserting that security forces have been monitoring the cross-border movement of people from trouble-torn Myanmar Lt Gen Lakhera while speaking at a lecture on “Geopolitical Developments in Myanmar and Its Impact on the Indo–Myanmar Border, with Special Focus on Manipur” at Manipur University, said that biometric records of those entering Manipur have been collected and shared with government agencies. “We have mapped 42,000 people coming here from across the border since December 21 last year. Biometrics have been taken and shared with all agencies — Aadhaar card, ID, everything,” he said.
The Assam Rifles chief also flagged that more than 20 battalions are currently deployed along the Indo–Myanmar border. He also informed thqt border fencing is underway and once completed it is expected to reduce illegal cross-border movements.
The lecture was jointly organized by Assam Rifles and Manipur University. Among the guest speakers was Dr. Om Prakash Das, a research fellow at the South East Asia & Oceania Centre of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi. Dr. Das, a specialist in India–Myanmar relations and border security, spoke about Myanmar’s evolving political landscape and its implications for India’s northeast.
Meanwhile, former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh hailed the Assam Rifles for collecting biometrics of those who have been entering India illegally from Myanmar and asserted that the influx of outsiders is "real and ongoing".
Referring to the remarks of Assam Rifles Director General he in his social media post said, “I thank Lt Gen Shri Vikas Lakhera, AVSM, SM, DG Assam Rifles, for confirming that biometrics are being collected from illegal entrants crossing the Indo Myanmar border. The very need for such a measure underlines an undeniable truth that the influx of outsiders into our region is real and ongoing. It is equally reassuring that these individuals are being kept under close watch, accommodated only at secure locations, and monitored under strict authority. The message is clear. The Northeast is not blind to what is happening, nor is it leaving anything to chance.”
