Human hair smuggled to China through Myanmar; Assam Rifles bust racket
During their investigation, the Assam Rifles found that the human hair was being brought from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
FollowAizawl: In a first-of-its-kind, human hair from India is being smuggled to China through the routes of Myanmar and Thailand, upon which the Assam Rifles are strictly keeping a vigil under their area of responsibility in Mizoram and seized about 120 bags of hair worth around Rs 2 crore.
During their investigation, the Assam Rifles found that the human hair was being brought from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
Balaji Temple at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh is known for hair offerings by devotees after they are blessed for their prayers.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the board which manages the Balaji temple, earned Rs 11.17 crore by auctioning 143.9 tonnes of human hair graded into five different categories in 2019.
In February, the Assam Rifles seized 120 bags of hair at Champhai district in Chhungte area of Mizoram.
While probing the smugglers, the border guarding forces found that the hair was being smuggled to China through Myanmar and Thailand. In China, it is reprocessed and used to make several types of wigs.
The wigs are then transported to several Asian as well as European nations which generate a huge money.
On being asked about the import of wigs from China to India, the official said “it can be. We cannot rule out the possibility.”
After receiving a complaint in 2019 regarding smuggling of human hair, the Commerce Ministry had written to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and the Anti-Smuggling Unit to take action.
Mizoram is a land-locked state which shares more than 80% of its border with Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The border of India and Myanmar is porous and all sorts of illegal activities are a common thing in Mizoram.
In the 1980s, the government of India and insurgent groups had signed a peace accord to end the menace of insurgency.
As per the official insurgence is no more active in the state.
