How trafficking of Rohingyas are taking place near Indo-Bangladesh border

Tripura police said that three persons were arrested from a village near the Indo-Bangladesh border in connection with "trafficking" of Rohingyas.

Agartala, Oct 5: At a time when the Northeast region of India is on high alert over fears of Rohingyas from Myanmar entering its soil, emergence of evidence of trafficking of Rohingya refugees near the Indo-Bangladesh border has rattled the administration of the northeastern states sharing their borders with Bangladesh.

A police official from Tripura said on Tuesday that three persons have been arrested from a village near the Indo-Bangladesh border in connection with "trafficking" of Rohingyas.

Acting on a tip-off, sleuths of Assam and Tripura Police and BSF personnel raided the Nabadwip Chandra Nagar village on Monday evening and arrested Suman Chowdhury (35), Faruk Chowdhury (32) and Sahajahan Choudhury (38), SP, Sipahijala district in Tripura, Sudipta Das, told reporters.

"On the basis of inputs of the Rohingya refugees, the Assam Police with help from the Tripura Police and the BSF arrested the three persons involved in trafficking," Das said.

He said six Rohingyas were arrested on August 19 at Karimganj in Assam, and during interrogation, they confessed to have migrated from Myanmars Rakhine state, and were staying in Bangladesh as refugees.

"They entered India with the help of a trafficking racket by using the sensitive corridor at Nabawip Chandra Nagar," Das said.

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.

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