Guwahati: Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday urged the state home department to share updated information on the biometric enrolment of illegal immigrants, saying regular disclosure would strengthen public confidence and reaffirm govt’s commitment to the state’s security.His remarks came after govt in neighbouring Mizoram said the biometric enrolment of Myanmar refugees sheltering in its state was in its final phase, with only 33 individuals yet to be registered. The exercise has already covered 99.90% of the 29,792 Myanmar nationals currently in Mizoram, who fled unrest in their country.In a post on social media, Singh said, “This is not about politics. It is about national security, safeguarding our borders and protecting the future of our people.”He said Mizoram govt had shown the importance of vigilance by closely monitoring the influx of illegal immigrants and taking measures to protect the state’s interests.Singh added that it would be in the public interest for the Manipur home department to regularly share updated information on biometric data collected, including the number of individuals identified and verified. “Such transparency would strengthen public confidence and reaffirm the govt’s commitment to protecting the state’s security and the interests of its indigenous communities,” he said.Home minister Konthoujam Govindas told the assembly last September that 24,475 illegal immigrants from Myanmar had been detected in Manipur. Of these, 14,992 have returned to Myanmar and 9,453 are staying in temporary shelters in border districts. He added that in Chandel, biometrics have been taken of 1,308 of the 4,770 immigrants who remain.Manipur shares 390 km of India’s 1,634 km border with Myanmar, and most stretches remain unfenced. This has allegedly aided illegal migration and cross-border crime. Mizoram and Manipur saw an influx of Myanmar nationals who fled after the military launched a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 2021. More than 35,000 Myanmar “refugees” have been sheltered in neighbouring Mizoram.The Union home ministry subsequently directed Manipur and Mizoram to record biometric details of suspected illegal immigrants.The biometric exercise in Manipur began when Biren Singh was in office. A cabinet sub-committee was set up in Feb 2023 to identify illegal immigrants. The Manipur campaign resumed in July 2023 after being disrupted by the ethnic violence that broke out on May 3.The Centre extended the deadline for the state to complete the exercise from Sept 30, 2023, by six months to March 31, 2024. In May 2024, Singh, then chief minister, said biometric data of 5,173 of the 5,457 illegal immigrants found in Kamjong district had been collected.
