15 border fencing posts stolen from near AR camp: Authorities
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, August 04 2025: Authorities in Tengnoupal district have confirmed the theft of 15 border fencing posts along the Indo-Myanmar frontier from near an Assam Rifles camp in Moreh, escalating concerns over the security of the contentious fencing project.

Following instructions from Tengnoupal SP Rahul Gupta, Moreh police station's officer-in-charge Md Salaud-din led an on-site inspection on Monday between Border Pillars 76 and 77, where the missing structures were discovered.

Salauddin told reporters that the stolen posts were taken from an area close to an Assam Rifles position.

A case has been registered, and investigations are underway.

15 border fencing posts stolen from near AR camp: Authorities

The inspection visit was made days after unknown individuals cut down and removed several metal posts between Border Pillars 77 and 78, near the Land Customs office in Moreh, during the night hours of Friday; The theft prompted Assam Rifles to seal the border on Saturday morning in an effort to prevent further breaches.

Local sources said that Myanmarese women traders from Tamu, who regularly crossed into Moreh to sell vegetables and household goods, were turned back at the checkpoint under the restrictions.

Security forces launched a search operation following the theft, recovering some of the stolen posts from an undisclosed location later that day.

However, many remain unaccounted for.

The thefts have disrupted work on the India - Myanmar border fence, a project that New Delhi has accelerated in recent months to curb narcotics smuggling, illegal immigration, and militant movement amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Manipur.

As of early July, roughly 401 kilometres of the planned 1,643-kilometre fence had been completed across the Northeast, with about 9.2 kilometres built near Moreh.

The project has stirred opposition from tribal groups in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, who say that the barrier and the end of the Free Movement Regime in February 2024 cut off communities with deep cultural and familial ties across the border.

Tensions flared up in May when a gunfight in neighbouring Chandel district left 10 members of Myanmar's rebel forces dead.

Military officials said that the armed cadres had crossed into Manipur to disrupt fencing work.

Myanmar's National Unity Government, operating in exile, condemned the killings and urged India to halt the project and order an independent investigation.

Security officials said that tampering with or stealing fencing material is a serious breach that could indicate links to insurgent or smuggling networks operating in the sensitive border zone.