Modi govt deports 2nd batch of Rohingyas from India, walks the talk on national security

By Hemanta Kumar Nath  |  First Published Jan 3, 2019, 2:46 PM IST

India’s stated policy has been very clear since the Narendra Modi government came to power. The Ministry of Home Affairs, in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, had called the Rohingya settlers a ‘national security threat’. It said all diplomatic measures were in full swing to deport them

Guwahati: In less than four months of India’s first deportation of seven Rohingya men to Myanmar, the government is all set to deport a second batch of Rohingyas.

Five Rohingyas, including two women, will be deported to Myanmar via Manipur’s Moreh along Indo-Myanmar border on Thursday.

Set to be expelled
 

The five Rohingyas illegally entered India in 2014 and were lodged in a foreigner detention camp inside the Tezpur jail in Assam’s Sonitpur district.

The five Myanmar nationals have been identified as Mohammad Riyas, Ahmed Hussain, Mohammad Ayas, Toyaba Khatun and Azida Begum. They are residents of Myanmar’s Buthitang.

The Sonitpur district police on Wednesday sent them to Manipur’s Moreh town for deportation.

Sonitpur district Superintendent of Police (SP) Prithipal Singh said that the five Myanmar nationals were arrested for violating the Foreigners Act of 1946.

India’s stated policy has been very clear since the Narendra Modi government came to power. The Ministry of Home Affairs, in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, had called the Rohingya settlers a ‘national security threat’. It said all diplomatic measures were in full swing to deport them.

First batch deported in October
 

In October, India expelled seven Rohingya Muslims hailing from Myanmar back to their country of origin.

Also read: Rohingya deportation underscores Modi govt's resolve to address threat to national security

India has been the second largest victim of large-scale migration of Rohingyas from Myanmar, with as many as 40,000 of them scattered around the country. The deportation showed the firm resolve of the Indian government in the face of such adversity.

Previous arrests
 

Twenty other Rohingyas from Myanmar are still lodged in different jails in Assam. Among them, 13 are in Tezpur detention camp, while 6 in Silchar and one in Goalpara in Assam.

Last year, Manipur police arrested a couple from Uttar Pradesh for their alleged involvement in the trafficking of Rohingyas from Myanmar into Manipur.

On April 8, 2018, Manipur police commandos arrested two Rohingyas, who entered into the Northeastern state via Moreh border without valid documents.

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