Musk denies Starlink operational in India after Army raid on Manipur insurgents finds equipment | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Even as he lobbies for clearance to its satellite communication company Starlink in India, Elon Musk found his satcom venture in controversy after a dish and router of the company were found with insurgents in Manipur during a raid by the Army and Assam Rifles.
Musk denied that Starlink’s services are operational in India, and added that satellite beams over the country have been switched off.
The controversy erupted after ‘Spear Corps’ of the Indian Army, working in Manipur, spoke about recovery of weapons and other communication equipment during raids it carried out against insurgents. The pictures put out in a tweet on X (previously Twitter) showed a dish and a router, purportedly of Starlink, giving rise to speculations that the satcom services were being used by the insurgents.
Commenting on the pictures of seized weapons and satcom equipment, an X user tagged Musk and asked, “@Starlink is being used by terrorists. Hope, Elon @elonmusk looks into it and help control misuse of this technology.”
Musk responded to the tweet and denied usage of the company’s services, “This is false. Starlink satellite beams are turned off over India.”
Starlink’s application for a satcom communication license is pending with govt, specifically on issues around security checks and other law enforcement matters.
Teams representing Starlink have been meeting officials at the department of telecom (DoT) as well as the Home Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office, seeking clarifications around any objections while giving out details around their plans.
Govt officials say that they have sought fresh details around “security aspects” from Starlink, and add that permission will be given “only when we are satisfied with the measures put in place to control illegal communication set-ups as well as data movement”.