Kohima: The Ministry of Defence for Manipur, Nagaland, and Southern Arunachal Pradesh says security forces stopped a Naga Students' Federation (NSF) delegation at the Avangkhu border crossing in Meluri district for a simple reason. They lacked valid travel documents. The group arrived in three vehicles with eight people at 11:30 a.m. on September 19.
They intended to travel to Tsera in Myanmar but failed to produce a mandatory Border Pass or official authorization. The Ministry stressed that this was a regulatory issue. "The issue was purely one of regulatory compliance rather than a denial of cultural or people-to-people contact," the PRO stated.
The Ministry criticized media reports for misrepresenting the incident as an attack on Naga identity. The delegation traveled from the state capital, Kohima, disqualifying them from the Free Movement Regime. This policy only covers residents living within 10 kilometers of the border. A letter from a civil organization does not replace a legal permit.
Officials pointed to the 16,428 Border Passes issued to date to show that regulated movement remains active. They urged the media to verify facts before spinning local security matters into a community-versus-security-force narrative.
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