Did Rohingyas enter Mizoram?

Mizoram HM R Lalzirliana said that the state government has not received any report of even a single Rohingya Muslim entering its soil till date.

Aizawl, October 2: At a time when the Northeast region of India is on high alert over fears of Rohingyas from Myanmar entering its soil, on Sunday Mizoram home minister R Lalzirliana stated that the state government has not received any report of even a single Rohingya Muslim entering Mizoram.

The entire Northeast region shares more than 4,500 km of border with Bangladesh, China, Myanmar and Bhutan. The states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh share 1,643 km border with Myanmar. Hardly, the Indo-Myanmar border areas are being fenced or well-guarded.

Moreover, India also has a porous border with Bangladesh, where most of the Rohingyas are currently fleeing to from their homeland. India also fears that Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh might enter the Northeast region through the porous Indo-Bangladesh border.

Thus at a time when reports stated that more than 5 lakh Rohingyas have left Myanmar after violence erupted in Rakhine state since August 25, the Centre had alerted the state governments in the region to beef up security to stop any infiltration from both the Myanmar and Bangladesh sides.

Lalzirliana said that security forces guarding the borders were instructed to step up vigil along the Mizoram-Myanmar border and Mizoram-Bangladesh border. The Assam Rifles intensified patrolling along the 404-km-long Mizoram-Myanmar international border and more troops were sent to the border areas.

Lalzirliana said it is unlikely that the Rohingyas would come to Mizoram as the community's home state of Rakhine in Myanmar is quite far off. Meanwhile, around 170 refugees from Myanmar's Arakan, who entered Mizoram and took shelter in southern district of Lawngtlai, had returned recently.

The refugees had fled Arakan due to recent clashes between the Myanmar Army and the Arakan Liberation Army (ALA).

The Narendra Modi government in its affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court recently stated that the "illegal Rohingya immigrants" pose "security threat" and need to be deported soon. According to an estimate around 40,000 Rohingyas are currently staying in various parts of the country.

OneIndia News