Nine Rohingya from Myanmar, living in India for 13 years, were detained near Assam’s Bangladesh border and will face deportation.
Nine Rohingya migrants detained near India-Bangladesh border in Assam’s Cachar district after living in India for over a decade.
Assam: Nine members of Myanmar’s Rohingya community, who had allegedly entered India illegally nearly 13 years ago, were detained near the India-Bangladesh border in Assam’s Cachar district, police said on Tuesday.
According to officials, the group — comprising two men, two women, one teenage girl and four children — had been living in different parts of India for years before travelling from Hyderabad to Cachar. They arrived at Hilara Railway Station on Monday and later took shelter near the international border.
Cachar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Numal Mahatta said the detainees were picked up from the Katigorah area on Tuesday evening following a tip-off from intelligence sources.
“They have been staying in India for many years. Recently, they travelled here with the intention of living in this area. They did not attempt to cross the border, but our team intercepted them before they could settle here,” Mahatta told media.
The detainees told police they had entered India from Bangladesh nearly 13 years ago and had worked in states including Jammu & Kashmir and Telangana. One of them, Abu Bakkar Siddiqui, said that while they were originally from Myanmar, their family members were now in Bangladesh. “Due to the recent crackdown on migrant workers, we decided to return,” he said.
Another detainee, Samsur Alam, claimed they were assisted by a human trafficking network that brought them to Assam and advised them to stay near the border. “We were told not to go out in the daytime, but we went to the market as we had no food,” he said.
Police have registered a case against the group and said they will be deported as per the directions of higher authorities.
