The Centre’s claim when it went on record in the Supreme Court that Rohingya Muslim refugees pose a danger to India’s national security was vindicated when Delhi police, acting on a tip-off arrested an Al Qaeda operative, from a bus stand in east Delhi on Sunday.
The arrested terrorist, Shami-ur-Rehman, during interrogation revealed to the police that he was on a “mission northeast”.
He said that Al Qaeda had sent him to India to set up base in Mizoram and Manipur and to recruit and train youngsters, after which, they would be sent to fight the Army in Myanmar, which has been cracking down on Rohingyas.
Following this, troops of the para-military Assam Rifles have been on high alert in the hill districts of the northeastern states bordering Myanmar.
It is feared that Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have already entered Assam, Manipur and Mizoram and many more are trying to enter the northeastern states by crossing the Indo-Myanmar international border illegally.
Patrolling along the Indo-Myanmar border has been intensified since the past few weeks. High priority is being given to the border town of Moreh and to the areas in south Mizoram which are contiguous to Myanmar.
Shami-ur-Rehman, who has been associated with Al Qaeda since 2013, is a British national of Bangladeshi origin. He was radicalised during a prison stint in the UK and is a hardcore fighter having fought battles for Al Qaeda in his earlier missions.
A pistol, 4 mm cartridges, a laptop, a mobile phone, a Bangladeshi SIM card and foreign currency in Bangladeshi Taka and US dollars has been seized from him.
Angry over the genocide on Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar, Al Qaeda had dispatched Shami-ur-Rehman to enter the Northeastern states where militancy is prevalent and arms are available clandestinely.
