Imphal: Two Myanmar nationals (a couple) were arrested with fake Aadhaar cards and an equal number of mobile handsets in Manipur.

A Manipuri youth who provided shelter to the foreign nationals was also apprehended.

This was stated by Manipur Health Minister Sapam Ranjan in a press conference held at his office in Imphal on Sunday.

Sapam Ranjan, who is also a spokesperson for the Manipur government said that as per the law of the country, legal action will be taken against the illegal migrants who have entered India through the porous Indo-Myanmar international borders.

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The Myanmar couple, who had taken shelter without valid documents, were arrested by the Manipur police from the residence of Angom Chinglen at Phayeng Khunou in Imphal West district on March 9.

The arrested foreign nationals were identified as Lim Dai Maruar alias Solom Maur alias Thokhosei Hangsong, 33, from Leisi township of Naga Self Administrative Sangai region of northern Myanmar, and his wife Hapno, 29.

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Angom Chinglen was also arrested on the charge of providing shelter to foreign nationals who entered Indian territory without authorized documents, the minister disclosed.

All the arrested persons were remanded into police custody until March 14, the minister said.

When asked about the backgrounds of the arrested people, the minister said that in 2008, Lim Dai Maruar had been studying at an institute in Dimapur, Nagaland. He subsequently studied at Nagaland College of Technologies.

Later, he became a teacher at a technology college in Nagaland. In May 2017, he returned to Myanmar and became a pastor in a church in the Naga Administrative area in the Sagaing region, Myanmar.

In January 2023, he re-entered India with false documents, and he along with his wife came and took shelter at the residence of Angom Chinglen on February 9, 2023, after exchanging messages on Facebook, the minister said.

When asked about giving shelter to foreign nationals, the minister appealed to the people of the state not to provide refuge to foreign nationals who enter the state without proper documents.

The minister also warned that the government will take stern actions against the illegal migrants.