Starlink Device Found In Manipur Not Working, Incompatible: Forensics

A Starlink dish and router recovered by the security forces from insurgents in Manipur are non-functional and incompatible in the state bordering Myanmar, sources in the central intelligence agencies have said based on their investigation.

"The devices had definitive markings of Starlink, but when we got it examined, we came to know that it is not compatible in this region," a senior officer told NDTV, requesting anonymity.

The army handed over the device to the Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for forensics analysis, the officer said. "Initial reports suggest that they were not operative. The report is, however, being analysed further."

The forensic reports are being tallied by the state and the Centre.

Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX, is the world's first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet anywhere in the world where the service is licenced to operate.

Starlink is not available in India, though the American company has applied for regulatory clearance. Elon Musk in a post on X has said Starlink doesn't operate in India.

The security forces recovered the Starlink dish and router during a combing operation in Imphal East district's Keirao Khunou village. They also recovered guns including an MA4 assault rifle used by the Myanmar Army, a pistol, ammunition and other weapons.

"We are examining 20 metres of FTP cables which were recovered  along with the satellite internet antenna and the router," another officer said.

FTP cable, or foil shielded twisted pair cable, is a networking cable designed for reliable data transmission by minimising the impact of external electromagnetic interference.

Elon Musk's Starlink, owned by his aerospace firm SpaceX, has faced regulatory hurdles in India

In 2021, the Centre ordered Starlink to stop pre-orders and services without proper licensing. The service has remained inactive in the country since then.

After visuals of the Starlink device surfaced on social media, the American billionaire in a post on X on Tuesday said, "Starlink satellite beams are turned off over India and were never on in the first place".

His response came after the Indian Army posted photos of recovered items including guns, bombs and a rectangular dish and router with the Starlink company name and logo.

"We recover weapons and gadgetry every day. Not all is sophisticated but three-fourth of the recovered weapons and tech items are sophisticated," another officer who is involved in field operations said.

Some 5,800 weapons were snatched or stolen from police stations across Manipur last year. Only 1,900 have been recovered by the forces. "In all, some 3,000 weapons have been recovered. but among these are also weapons which were in circulation in the region before the violence began in May 2023," the officer said.

Manipur has been grappling with ethnic violence since May 2023 between the valley-dominant Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur.

Over 250 people have died, and thousands have been internally displaced, as clashes over land, identity, and political representation escalate.

The last 19 months in Manipur have seen frequent internet shutdowns and communication restrictions, adding to the complexity of the crisis. The discovery of the Starlink device in violence-hit Manipur has heightened concerns about external influences and technological misuse exacerbating the conflict.

It has definitely raised alarm among intelligence agencies and the security forces as it may be able to provide satellite-based high-speed internet, circumventing the Indian network.

The seized Starlink device has "RPF/PLA" scribbled on it. The Revolutionary People's Front (RPF) is the political arm of the Meitei insurgent group People's Liberation Army (PLA), which is one of the eight Meitei secessionist groups listed as banned organisations by the Union Home Ministry.

Starlink has no licence to operate in neighbouring Myanmar, too.

However, the Myanmar Internet Project - a collective run since 2022 by researchers to track developments in the Myanmar digital space - has estimated some 3,000 Starlink connections across the country, used by both ethnic insurgents fighting the junta and the common people living in remote areas.

The Meitei insurgent group PLA has been operating in areas in Myanmar which are near the border with India.