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Raising the issue of infiltration from Bangladesh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Rohingya use Assam and NorthEastern states mostly as transit points to reach other parts of India.
Sarma said, “Assam is facing a national issue, the issue of Rohingya infiltration is not just an issue of the state. They use Assam and Tripura mostly as a transit point to enter India from Bangladesh. The Assam Police and its Special Task Force (STF) teams work hard to nab the touts who help them get fake documents.”
The Rohingya Community
The issue dates back to the early 15th century and transcends the border of Assam. The Assam-Bangladesh international border is 262-km-long, of which 1.6% is unfenced. The Assam-Tripura interstate border is 46-km-long.
There are two distinct Muslim groups in Myanmar. The group that was brought to Myanmar during the British colonial period is Rohingya. After Independence, in 1948, Myanmar refused citizenship to the Rohingya. Initially, citizens with families, who had lived in Myanmar for at least two centuries, were allowed to apply for citizenship. After the military coup in 1962, the Myanmar government started issuing foreign identity cards to them.
In 1982, a new citizenship law was passed, which did not recognise Rohingya as one of the country’s 135 ethnic groups because they had sided with the British who were seeking to overthrow the colonial rule. This rendered the Rohingya stateless.
The community moves from one place to another, mostly illegally. They are also accused of crimes such as rape and murder, drug trafficking, women and children trafficking, human trafficking.
THE ASSAM POLICE CRACKDOWN
In February 2023, the Karimganj District police intercepted a group of Rohingya heading to Delhi by train. The investigation revealed a bigger plot.
Assam DIG Partha Sartha Mahanta on Wednesday said it was revealed that the Indo-Bangladesh Border in Tripura and West Bengal are the entry points facilitated by a network of touts in Bangladesh and India. The Special Task Force led by the Assam DIG managed to apprehend and seize touts with fake documents.
Mahanta stated, “The preferred destinations via Assam are Delhi, Jammu, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kerala. They mostly move in trains and buses, which makes it difficult to detect them. There is a demand for cheap labour, which the touts help fulfil.”
“After the Assam CM started monitoring, we ramped up our operations. We intensified checking at international and inter state borders, checking trains and buses coming from border areas. So far, the Assam police have detected 137 Rohingya and 304 Bangladeshis entering illegally. All of them have been sent back with assistance of the BSF,” he added.
Mahanta added, “In a major operation recently, the Assam STF cracked down on illegal Rohingya immigrants, arrested nine persons from Tripura and three touts, including 2 Bangladeshi nationals, from Tripura and one from Assam. Two cases were registered. One was taken up by the NIA. Subsequently, in a joint operation, 47 touts were arrested in the country, the highest (25) in Tripura, followed by Karnataka with 9 arrests. This has been the biggest crackdown on Rohingya in India. “
Further, the National Crime Records Bureau, in its latest report, has highlighted a 50% drop in crime rate in Assam compared to 2021. A significant drop has also been witnessed in crime rates against women and children, reflecting the state government’s commitment to tackle crime through several reforms in policing.
The Assam CM stated that the new data can be dubbed as a turnover for the state. “I am sure by 2023, when the NCRB data will be released, our position will improve. This is the first time, probably since 1979, that we have seen a turnaround.”
