The Centre has asked Jammu & Kashmir and other states to confine illegal Rohingya settlers to pre-identified locations within their respective jurisdictions, record their personal particulars, including biometric details, and not to issue them Aadhaar number or any other identity proof, The Times Of India reported.
The meticulous preparation of their personal particulars has been sought so that these details can eventually be shared with Myanmar for likely repatriation.
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This indicates the government’s intent to prevent a wider diffusion of Rohingya in India beyond the camps, and the Centre’s concern over possible presence of radical elements among them and their involvement in crime.
In a letter to the chief secretary of J&K government on Saturday, the home ministry highlighted the “security risks posed by some of those Rohingya/foreigners who entered India illegally and were involved in illegal activities such as fraudulent procurement and/or fabrication of Indian identity cards — PAN, voter IDs etc — money laundering, crimes and other anti-national activities”, TOI quoted sources as saying.
Some of the Rohingya refugees, it added, are also vulnerable to radicalisation.
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A home ministry officer told TOI that similar letters had gone to other states as well. According to estimates put together by the intelligence agencies last year, there are around 40,000 Rohingya Muslims illegally settled across the country.
Of these, 7,096 are in J&K (Jammu), 3,059 in Hyderabad, 1,114 in Mewat (Haryana), 1,200 in western Uttar Pradesh, 1,061 in Delhi (Okhla) and 400 in Jaipur.
According to central agencies, a network of touts based in West Bengal and Assam have been arranging forged identity documents for the Rohingya soon after they enter the country illegally. In fact, some NGOs run by Muslim organisations in West Bengal are arranging logistics for their stay in camps.
“Of late, some attempts by Rohingyas to move to states like Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have come to notice. There has also been new influx of immigrants into Jammu, Hyderabad, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands,” said an intelligence officer.