AIZAWL: Young Mizo Association (YMA) on Tuesday said that some Myanmar nationals, who took shelter in a village in Kolasib district of Mizoram, have obtained Indian documents like Aadhar card, PAN card and bank passbook.
Awithangpa group of YMA said in a statement that it had recently conducted an assessment of 110 Myanmar nationals, who are currently taking shelter at Khamrang village in Kolasib district of Mizoram.
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During the assessment, it was discovered that 3 Myanmar nationals were in possession of Aadhar card, while one person was found in possession of a bank passbook in Federal Bank in Aizawl, Mizoram and another in possession of PAN card, it said.
The photo copies of the credentials were submitted to deputy commissioner of Kolasib district in Mizoram John LT Sanga for further investigation, it said.
The organisation alleged that the Aadhar cards were believed to be forged by the holders with the help of a person, whose identity has not been disclosed, at a shopping mall in Aizawl, Mizoram.
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The Myanmar nationals paid Rs 8000 for one Aadhar card, it said.
It asked the deputy commissioner to investigate the matter and take necessary measures for immediate cancellation of the fake documents.
Meanwhile, John LT Sanga said that illegitimate possession of Indian documents by foreigners is a serious issue, which would be probed thoroughly with the police.
A senior Assam Rifles official, who refused to be named, also alleged that many people from Myanmar and Bangladesh, who took shelter in Mizoram, were found in possession of fake Indian identity cards like Aadhar card during checking by security forces.
A few of them have possessed such fake identity cards even before they entered the state, he said.
In April, Benjamin Sum, a well known singer from Myanmar’s Chin state, was compelled to surrender his fake Indian documents due to stiff protest by locals.
Mizoram currently hosts about 34,000 Myanmar nationals and more than 700 people from Bangladesh.
The Chin community in Myanmar and the Kuki-Chin people in Bangladesh share close ethnic ties with the Mizo.
The Myanmar nationals have been taking refuge in Mizoram since the military coup in February 2021, while the Bangladeshi nationals entered in small batches commencing from November last year due to armed clashes between Bangladesh Army and Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA), an ethnic insurgent group that demand separate state.
Mizoram shares a 510-km long international boundary with Myanmar and 318 km with Bangladesh.