Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh has lauded the Assam Rifles for collecting biometrics of people entering India illegally from Myanmar, stressing that the influx of outsiders into the region is “real and ongoing.”
His remarks came after Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera, while addressing a programme at Manipur University on Wednesday, revealed that since December 31, 2024, the paramilitary force had “mapped 42,000 people coming here.”
Sharing a video clip of the address on X, Biren Singh said it was reassuring that the individuals were being closely monitored, housed only in secure locations, and kept under strict authority. He thanked the Assam Rifles DG for confirming that biometrics were 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,” Biren Singh wrote, adding that the Northeast “is not blind to what is happening, nor is it leaving anything to chance.”
Meanwhile, the Assam Rifles issued a clarification on Thursday, noting that some media outlets had misrepresented the DG’s remarks. The force explained that under the new Free Movement Regime (FMR) policy of the government, Myanmarese nationals entering India through crossing points are now being mapped.
“Since December, 42,000 individuals have been mapped with the help of biometrics and various measures instituted by all concerned government agencies. The data is being shared with all government agencies,” the clarification stated.
It further explained that these Myanmarese citizens primarily stay temporarily in the Northeastern states, including Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, before returning to their country as per provisions of the new FMR policy.
The Assam Rifles emphasised that the seminar at Manipur University, part of an academic collaboration with the institution, had been misinterpreted in some reports, and urged media outlets to reflect the DG’s remarks in the correct context.
