Manipur on high alert to check possible influx of Rohingyas

Chief Minister N Biren Singh had on Saturday issued an alert to strengthen security along the 364-km long porous Indo-Myanmar border to prevent the influx of the Rohingya, the police said.

Rohingya refugees wait for the food to be distributed by local organisations near Balukhali makeshift refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, September 13, 2017. (REUTERS/File Photo)

The police in the hill districts of Manipur, bordering Myanmar, are on high alert due to apprehension of Rohingya Muslims trying to enter the state by crossing the border illegally. Patrolling has been intensified in the last three days, the police said today. Till Wednesday, no illegal immigrant has been detected or intercepted for trying to cross over from the neighbouring country, they said.

High priority is being given to the border town of Moreh. The police are on the lookout for suspicious looking people without valid documents travelling to Moreh from the commercial town of Tamu across the border in Myanmar, they said.

People from Tamu can visit Moreh with valid papers but have to return before 4 pm. Chief Minister N Biren Singh had on Saturday issued an alert to strengthen security along the 364-km long porous Indo-Myanmar border to prevent the influx of the Rohingya, the police said.

Biren had also directed the concerned superintendents of police and deputy commissioners to prevent any attempt by the Rohingya to sneak into Manipur. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine province have been fleeing the country since August 25 when a fresh wave of violence erupted there after the security forces launched a crackdown in the Rakhine state.

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