GUWAHATI: At least 12 Myanmar nationals illegally crossed over to India after Mizoram enforced a statewide lockdown on March 22 to check the COVID-19 pandemic, it has emerged.
Official sources said the twelve, mostly traders, were booked under relevant sections of the Passport Act and Indian Penal Code. After 14 days of quarantine, they were lodged at the district jail in Champhai near the India-Myanmar border.
Apart from these Myanmar nationals, a Chinese and six militants of Myanmar's Arakan Army are also lodged at two different jails in the state. Members of the Arakan Army usually cross over to the Indian side whenever there is an offensive against them by the Myanmar Army.
Mizoram's Inspector General of Prisons Maria CT Zuali told journalists the Chinese had entered the state last year without any valid travel documents. She said the person will be released soon.
Over 30 Rohingya women, suspected to be victims of trafficking, are also in detention in the state. They will be sent to a corrective home prior to their deportation, Zuali said.