NEW DELHI: Elon Musk said Starlink satellite internet is inactive in India, his first comments since authorities seized two of the company’s devices in recent weeks, one in an armed conflict zone and another in a drug smuggling bust.

Starlink is seeking approval in India to provide satellite broadband services and the Musk-owned company is trying to address any potential security concerns as part of the process.

Musk wrote on X late on Tuesday that “Starlink satellite beams are turned off over India” and were “never on in the first place.” He was responding to a post from the Indian Army about a search operation on Dec 13 in Manipur state in India’s northeast, where a communal conflict has raged since early last year.

The post included photos of seized weapons and a satellite dish and receiver with a Starlink logo. Two military officers familiar with the search operation said the device with the Starlink logo was being used by a militant group. They said the device was likely smuggled through the porous border with neighbouring civil war-torn Myanmar, where use of Starlink devices by rebel groups has been documented in media reports although the company does not operate in Myanmar either.

Earlier this month, Indian police sent a legal demand to Starlink seeking purchase details of a device found when they caught smugglers at sea with $4.2 billion worth of methamphetamine, one of the biggest such Indian seizures. The police suspect the smugglers were using the internet device to navigate.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2024