For the first time, a Starlink dish and router have been seized from insurgents in Manipur
New Delhi:
For the first time, a Starlink dish and router have been seized, reportedly from a Meitei rebel group in Manipur, raising concerns over the use of the internet by insurgents to coordinate attacks and communicate tactical information even in times of internet outages, sources say.
However, finding a Starlink device in India in the hands of insurgents does not mean it is usable in India, sources said.
Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk's space company SpaceX, is the world's first and largest satellite constellation that uses low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet anywhere in the world where the service is licensed to operate.
Starlink is not available in India, although the US company has applied for regulatory approval.
Elon Musk said in a post on X that Starlink is not active in India. “This is not true. Starlink satellite beams have been switched off over India,” he said.
This is not true. Starlink's satellite beams have been turned off over India.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2024
A joint team of the security forces recovered the Starlink dish and router along with an MA4 assault rifle, grenades and bullets from Khunou in Imphal East district on December 13.
Police called the device “Internet satellite antenna and Internet satellite router.”
Search operations and area domination were carried out by security forces in the fringe and vulnerable areas of hill and valley districts. The following objects were found during the searches:
i. 01 (one) no. of MA4 Assault Rifle, 01 (One) No. of 12 Bore Single Barrel… pic.twitter.com/Ls4lwx9Opu— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) December 13, 2024
The Indian Army's Spear Corps, in a post on
One of the visuals shows a white, rectangular dish and a router with the Starlink logo on it. In this photo, the abbreviations “RPF/PLA” are visible on the router.
This photo, taken from a closer angle, is of the same Starlink device that the security forces found on December 13, sources told NDTV, adding that the security forces had handed over the device to the police.
Acting on specific intelligence, troops of Indian Army and Assam Rifles formations under Spear Corps conducted joint search operations in the hill and valley areas in Churachandpur, Chandel, Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts of Manipur in close coordination with Manipur Police . and other security forces and recovered 29 weapons comprising snipers, automatic weapons, rifles, pistols, country-made mortars, single-barreled rifles, grenades, ammunition and weapons of war. stores,” the Spear Corps said in a post on X.
Acting on specific intelligence, troops of #IndianArmy And #AssamGuns formations below #SpeerCorps conducted joint search operations in the hill and valley areas of Churachandpur, Chandel, Imphal East and Kagpokpi districts in #Manipurin close collaboration with… pic.twitter.com/kxy7ec5YAE
— SpearCorps.IndianArmy (@Spearcorps) December 16, 2024
The Popular Revolutionary Front (RPF) is the political wing of the Meitei rebel group People's Liberation Army (PLA), one of eight Meitei separatist groups listed as banned organizations by the Union Home Ministry.
Starlink had launched the 12-by-19-inch rectangular dish in November 2021, in addition to the existing round dish. The dimensions of the device with the Starlink logo in the images released by the security forces appear to match.
Starlink is not licensed to operate in neighboring Myanmar.
However, the Myanmar Internet Project – a collective run by researchers since 2022 to track developments in Myanmar's digital space – estimates around 3,000 Starlink connections across the country, used by both ethnic insurgents fighting against the junta fighting as by the ordinary population living in remote areas.
The Meitei insurgent group PLA is active in areas of Myanmar close to the border with India.
Police declined to provide more specific details about the “internet satellite antenna and internet satellite router.” According to sources, the investigation is at an early stage.