Manipur detects 24,475 illegal immigrants; nearly 15,000 return to Myanmar: Minister

Imphal, Sep 7 (PTI) Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam on Monday said 24,475 illegal immigrants have been detected in the state, of whom 14,992 have returned to neighbouring Myanmar while the remaining 9,453 are currently staying in various parts of the state.

The minister, however, did not provide details of the time period during which the illegal immigrants were detected.

Responding to a question by Congress MLA Th Lokeshwar Singh during the ongoing Assembly session, Konthoujam said 6,545 illegal immigrants were detected in Kamjong district, 3,560 in Tengnoupal and 14,370 in Chandel.

"Of 24,475 illegal immigrants, 14,992 have returned to Myanmar, and 9,453 are still present in the border districts and have been kept in temporary shelters," he said.

He said that out of the 6,545 illegal immigrants detected in Kamjong, 5,378 had returned to Myanmar, while 1,167 were staying in temporary camps.

In Tengnoupal, 3,560 illegal immigrants were detected, of whom 14 had gone back to Myanmar, while the remaining 3,546 were still in the district, Konthoujam said.

In Chandel, 14,370 illegal immigrants were detected, of whom 9,600 had returned to Myanmar, while 4,770 stayed back, he said.

"Out of the 4,770 illegal immigrants in the district, biometrics of 1,308 have been taken," Konthoujam said. PTI