Refugee issue

36,000 Rohingyas in India, J&K their preferred destination, says BSF

rohingya-bangladesh-afp A Rohingya family at a refugee camp in Bangladesh | AFP

The chief of the Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday claimed that as many as 36,000 Rohingyas live in different parts of India. While he claimed that the BSF was yet to come across specific cases of Rohingyas having links with terrorists or being in possession of arms, he said such links could not be ruled out.

K.K. Sharma, the director-general of the 2.5-lakh-strong BSF, was interacting with reporters ahead of the 52nd Raising Day of the BSF on December 1. Sharma claimed his men had apprehended 87 Rohingya Muslims along the India-Bangladesh border since the beginning of this year till October 31, and 76 'have been sent back to Bangladesh.'

"As far as my information goes, about 36,000 Rohingyas are there in this country at various places.... This is one of those general observations and is based on inputs we received from our sister agencies (like the police and intelligence)," he noted.

Sharma said the border-guarding force had not come across any specific case where a Rohingya they caught possessed arms, ammunition or had terror connection. "But, the threat that they have some links with terror organisations is a very serious one and has been given by our sister agencies and I don't doubt them," Sharma said.

He said the force had bolstered its manpower and surveillance equipment at 'vulnerable' posts along the Bangladesh border to check the illegal influx of Rohingyas from the neighbouring country into India. The force sent back the Rohingyas and did not arrest them as they would have then become a 'liability,' the DG said.

"Rohingya (issue) is a very complicated issue. As per the latest estimate, 9-10 lakh of them have migrated to Bangladesh (from Myanmar) and the possibility of a spillover coming to India cannot be ruled out. Our mandate is very clear that we do not allow any illegal immigration into India, whether he is a Rohingya or a Bangladeshi," Sharma said.

In the border areas, the BSF chief said his men were not equipped to make a distinction between a Bangladeshi and a Rohingya. "So, whosoever tries to cross (the border), we sent them back. We don't arrest them as that becomes a liability. Our policy is not to allow anyone (to) enter India illegally," he said.

An official note provided by the BSF during the press conference said, "Agents lure Rohingyas with good job opportunities in India and motivate that they will work with their own Muslim community in some of the states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.”

It said that most of the Rohingyas go to Jammu and Kashmir because some Rohingyas have already been staying there for the last few years.

"Apart from being a natural choice due to its Muslim majority, the Rohingyas said that they picked Jammu and Kashmir on economic consideration and most of them followed a similar pattern.

Once a Rohingya reaches Jammu, he stays there for a few months and then invites other relatives, informing them of job opportunities and better pay," the note explained.

In rare cases, the document said, if some Rohingyas did not get permanent jobs, they would go to another state for earning money or settling there.

Sharma said the document was compiled based on information provided to the BSF by sister agencies.

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