Border states flag illegal migrants on voter rolls, drone use, smugglers’ apps

This file image is for representational purposes only. | Photo credit: PTI

At the first-ever conference of police chiefs from districts that share borders with neighboring countries, the states flagged several key concerns, including the presence of illegal migrants on electoral rolls despite a special revision of electoral rolls in Assam, the alleged misuse of the Nepal border by radical elements to reach Punjab and the use of apps like WhatsApp, Skred and Zangi for weapons and narcotics, a border official told The Hindu and The Hindu with Pakistan.

Migration of people from border villages is also a problem. “Border villages cannot include only border guards and police. The eviction of villages due to lack of infrastructure and employment opportunities has been flagged and several initiatives like the Vibrant Villages program have been introduced,” another government official said.

On July 9, Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the first ever Superintendents of State Border Districts at the Police Conference 2026. The meeting was attended by SZs of 119 border districts. Union Home Minister Govind Mohan, Intelligence Director Mahesh Dixit and Director Generals of Police of 17 states and Union Territories that share land borders with Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Myanmar were present at the conference.

The Assam Police gave a presentation on a case where illegal migrants from Bangladesh obtained birth certificates and other identity documents and entered the electoral roll.

“The case study reported that an illegal migrant from Bangladesh entered the country and arrived at a mosque in Assam. He was provided with a fake matriculation certificate and even assigned parents (to prove his origin). Passports and voter ID cards followed, and he went to another city to work. Despite the fake identity, he escaped scrutiny and his name was not excluded from the official electoral roll,” he said.

Unlike all other states, Assam has not undergone a particularly intensive revision of electoral rolls as the final National Register of Citizens, unique to the state, which was prepared in 2019, is yet to be published. More than 19 million of the 3.29 million applicants in Assam were excluded from the register. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on 18 February 2026 that a special revision of electoral rolls was designed to include eligible voters and exclude those who were not eligible.

At the conference, Mr Shah said information about demographic changes in border areas due to “abnormal” factors such as illegal migration should be communicated from the lowest levels to the highest levels as soon as possible.

The meeting highlighted the increase in the use of drones along the Pakistan border to drop weapons and narcotics. It has been proposed to set up more drone labs to forensically study and analyze the path of unmanned aerial objects sent from Pakistan, the official said.

“The meeting also mentioned the use of encrypted apps like WhatsApp, Skred and Zangi by criminals and terrorist groups operating across borders. One of the officers said the apps were difficult to hack,” the official said.

In total, the conference held five sessions that addressed cross-border terrorism, insurgency and organized crime, challenges in border guarding, financial crime and illicit flow of funds, changes in demographics and housing patterns in the border belt, and community involvement in border development.

“The changing demographics of West Bengal’s Murshidabad district was highlighted. As was the growth of mosques along the Pakistan border in Rajasthan. The police officer noted how the open Nepal border was being misused by pro-Chalistan people to enter Punjab and create trouble in the state,” the official said.

Another government official said states have been asked to submit their proposals by December and that the quadrilateral security network, which includes border communities and local police, will be completed in the next year and a half.

Published – 13 Jul 2026 21:42 IST