Billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday rejected claims that his satellite internet venture Starlink was being used by militant groups in violence-hit Manipur.
Starlink provides internet access through a constellation of satellites placed in low-earth orbit by Musk’s spacecraft manufacturing company SpaceX. Starlink has applied for a licence to start satellite communication services in India. The application is pending before the government.
Musk’s statement came after the Indian Army and Assam Rifles on Monday seized a device that resembled Starlink hardware and had the service’s label on it, along with arms and ammunition, during a raid in Manipur.
The operation was conducted jointly with the Manipur Police in Churachandpur, Chandel, Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts, the Army’s Spear Corps said on social media.
Following this, social media users pointed out that among the devices recovered, one had Starlink’s label on it. Some of them also claimed that militants in Manipur were possibly using Starlink for communications.
Responding to this, Musk said: “This is false. Starlink satellite beams are turned off over India.”
Manipur has been gripped by ethnic conflict between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmars communities since May 3, 2023. At least 258 persons have died and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the conflict broke out. There was an uptick in violence in the state in November.
On November 12, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that Starlink was in the process of obtaining security clearance for a licence to offer satellite broadband services in India, reported Reuters.
“When you check all the boxes, you get the licence,” Scindia had said. “If they do that, we will be very happy.”
Weeks later, India had sent a legal notice to Starlink seeking purchase details of a device found when the police caught six Myanmarese nationals with 6,000 kg of contraband Methamphetamine near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on November 23, according to Reuters.
Starlink does not operate in Myanmar either.
Hargobinder S Dhaliwal, a senior Andaman Police official, told the news agency that this was the first time a Starlink device had been used to navigate and reach Indian waters.
“This [case] is different because it is bypassing all the legal channels,” said Dhaliwal. “They directly operated [phones] with satellite, creating a Wi-Fi hotspot.”
On December 9, Reuters reported that the police have asked Starlink to furnish the name of the purchaser, payment method, registration details and where the internet device was used when smugglers travelled in international waters from Myanmar to India.
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