At least three Myanmar police officers have crossed into India to escape taking orders from the military junta that is trying to suppress the protests against last month’s coup, and taken refuge in Mizoram, a top official said.

The three policemen, who have crossed the porous border, have been sheltered near Lungkawlh in Serchhip district of Mizoram, a top Mizoram Home department official said on condition of anonymity.

“They have fled as they cannot comply to the orders given by the junta. They are currently staying at a Community hall Lungkawlh village, Serchhip district where they are provided food and clean drinking water. Their identities and situation have been forwarded to the centre,” the official added.

There have been several media reports and social media posts of instances of the police joining the civil disobedience movement and protests against the junta. However, this is perhaps the first reported case of police fleeing Myanmar.

The official said that none of these officers have officially applied for asylum but they have been sheltered on “humanitarian grounds.”

There are also unconfirmed reports of more people from Myanmar entering Mizoram.

People from Myanmar’s Chin community and the Mizos belong to the Zo ethnic group and they share the same ancestry. Thus, there is close bonding.

Mizoram shares a 404 km porous border with Myanmar. The state government has alerted all the border areas on a possible influx of people seeking refuge in the days to come, the official added.

The junta overthrew a democratically-elected government, and detained its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, disputing her party’s landslide victory in November.

It made unfounded allegations of widespread fraud in elections and has allegedly detained Ms Suu Kyi since February 1.

Ms Suu Kyi has reportedly been kept under house arrest in Naypyidaw, an isolated city that the military built during a previous dictatorship.