India steps up border patrols to stop arrivals from Myanmar

Indian security forces stepped up patrols on the border with Myanmar on Friday to stop refugees entering after some police officers crossed over to escape taking orders from the military junta there, officials said.“As of now, we are not letting anybody enter,” Maria Zuali, senior government official in Mizoram state’s Champhai district, told Reuters by telephone.
The move follows the defection over the border of some low-ranking Myanmar police officers who were unwilling to obey orders to suppress demonstrations against the junta.Myanmar’s military overthrew a democratically elected government on Feb. 1, setting off nationwide protests that have left more than 50 people dead. A spokesman for the military has not commented on the police defectors.