Russian, Slovak Held in Mizoram Without Mandatory Permits
A religious symbol from Mizoram border with Myanmar. (Image Nirendra Dev)
Two foreigners — a 41-year-old Russian and a 53-year-old Slovak — have been arrested in Mizoram’s sensitive border districts without mandatory Protected Area Permits.
By NIRENDRA DEV
Guwahati, April 1, 2026 — Two foreign nationals — a Russian and a Slovak, both travelling as ‘cyclists’ — have been arrested in separate incidents in Mizoram’s sensitive border districts after being found without mandatory Protected Area Permits (PAPs), raising serious questions about gaps in India’s border security enforcement in the northeast.
The Russian: A Bangladesh Terror Link Being Probed
Igor Babko, 41, a Russian national, was nabbed at Rajiv Nagar village in Mamit district — a sensitive zone bordering both Tripura and Bangladesh. He had entered from Kanchanpur town in North Tripura district, without the mandatory PAP.
BSF personnel apprehended Babko and handed him over to Mamit district Police in Mizoram.
Police, however, say they have no independent confirmation of reported allegations linking Babko to the Bangladeshi terror outfit Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) — headed by Santu Larma and operating out of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh angle, nonetheless, remains under active probe.
“We deported him from Aizawl to Assam riding on his bicycle. He has a flight ticket to travel from Delhi to Tokyo on May 4,” a police source said.
The Slovak: Headed for Myanmar via South Mizoram
In a separate incident last week, a 53-year-old Slovak national was nabbed at Laki village in Siaha district — in the southern tip of Mizoram bordering Myanmar.
The Slovak had landed at Lengpui Airport in Aizawl and was proceeding towards the Myanmar border, reportedly to attend a festival. He too was without a PAP. He was subsequently deported via Lengpui Airport.
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The Permit Gap: A Systemic Vulnerability
Both arrests have thrown a harsh spotlight on a critical weakness in Mizoram’s border security architecture —PAPs are checked only at Lengpui Airport in Aizawl. Road entry points, including the busy Vairengte border town on the Assam-Mizoram interstate boundary, and even the railway station at Sairang on the western outskirts of Aizawl, have no such verification facilities.
This gap is now under active review.
Sources point out that inordinate delays in the issuance of PAPs to genuine foreign visitors frequently create grey areas — pushing many foreigners, wittingly or otherwise, into entering Mizoram without proper documentation.
The Protected Area Regime (PAR) — which requires foreigners to obtain PAPs before visiting sensitive border states including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland — had been relaxed for a period but was e-imposed by the central government from December 17, 2024 citing security concerns. PAPs are issued online through the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
Indian citizens from other states who are non-Mizo or non-Naga require a separate Inner Line Permit (ILP) to enter these states.
How the Earlier Group Entered: The NIA Arrests in Context
The two fresh arrests come in the wake of the high-profile NIA arrest of six Ukrainians and one American who had entered Mizoram without PAPs. Mizoram Police have confirmed that this group did not enter the state by flight — they came from Assam via Vairengte in a car driven by a local Mizo who told police personnel on duty that he was not carrying any non-tribal requiring an ILP.
On March 29, Union Home Minister Amit Shah provided the first official confirmation of the group’s intent. He stated that the foreigners were not a direct security threat to India but were planning to use India as a transit route into Myanmar, where insurgent bases were to be used to impart training to the Ukrainian nationals.
“They were caught as they were planning to transit through Mizoram into Myanmar, where insurgent bases would be used to impart training to the Ukrainians. They did not take the necessary advance permit required by foreigners to enter Mizoram,” Shah said.
“No threat was posed to India’s security. It is our policy that any foreigner who visits India for any wrong act will not be spared,” he added.
The Blame Game
There is an apparent attempt within the security establishment to deflect responsibility for the permit failures. One source pointed directly at the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF): “If any foreigner is entering Mizoram by road via Assam, the CAPF personnel guarding the Assam-Mizoram interstate border should check whether they are having a PAP or not.”
The broader question — of why a state with four international and interstate sensitive borders continues to have permit verification at only one entry point — remains unanswered.
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