Moreh under scanner for illegal migrants
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 20 2012: Following the crackdown on illegal immigrants, the police besides carrying out sudden raids at certain pockets at Moreh town bordering Myanmar, are also keeping a sharp vigil at the border town.

The focal point of India's ambitious 'Look East Policy' and the commercial hub of the ongoing Indo-Myanmar trading activities, Moreh has a mixed community population of over 17,000 with the Kukis being the largest among them.

Sizeable number of Muslims, Meities and Tamils are also settled there.

As Manipur share a 380 Km long porous border with Myanmar, flow of contraband drugs, weapons and immigrants between the two countries is rampant, security officials said adding that the Assam Rifles is guarding the boundary frontier on the Indian side.

Moreh police carried out a special drive to detect illegal immigrants at Muslim Basti at the border town about ten days back and during the drive around 500 Muslims were verified.

Fencing at Indo-Myanmar border near Moreh

Though no infiltrators were detected in the drive, many Myanmarese nationals mostly Muslims from the Arakan province were pulled up from Moreh and elsewhere in Chandel district by the security forces for entering India without valid documents in the past many years.

During the recent police crackdown against illegal foreign nationals nearly 100 Myanmarese and Bangladeshi immigrants were detected from some Muslim pockets in Imphal and Thoubal districts.

"We carried out the drive to detect illegal immigrants at Muslim Basti, Moreh about ten days back but no one was rounded up.

We are keeping a strict vigil at the border town to detect illegal entry of foreigners and we will continue to hold such drive in the future," said officer-in-charge of Moreh police station O Doren, while speaking to this reporter.

The long porous international boundary has helped Myanmarese nationals to illegally enter Manipur, the police officer said even as construction of a ten-Km border fencing is currently underway at the edge of Moreh town in Chandel district.

The stationing of a new police commando unit at Moreh has helped in checking the inflow of migrants from across the border.

Now people, who desire to go to Myanmar through the border gates with their vehicles, have to obtain special permission from the commando unit headed by an inspector, a move which was implemented earlier, official sources said.

Indian and Myanmar citizens are, however, allowed to enter the neighboring countries on foot without pass for a limited distance beyond the borderline and time on daily basis.

The international border gates open at 7 am and shut at 4 pm.