The Central government, at least in its statements looks to have taken a tough stance on the whole Rohingya illegal immigration issue.
The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju had categorically stated that Rohingyas in India are illegal immigrants who need to be deported as per law. Apart from the aspect of existing Rohingya refugees, there’s another issue in this whole saga which is the entry of new Rohingya refugees into the Indian territory.
Regarding this matter too the Central government seems to have instructed the Border Security Force to identify vulnerable spots along the Indo-Bangladesh border and prevent their entry into Bengal. The IG of BSF (South Bengal) had back then stated that a clear mandate was given to them to act firmly against the Rohingyas.
On Friday, it was reported that India had stepped up its border security along the Indo-Bangladesh border and was using chilli and stun grenades to block their entry. A senior BSF official had stated that they didn’t want to inflict any serious injury to the Rohingyas but at the same time they (BSF) won’t tolerate them on Indian soil.
Now according to a report in The Hindu, the BSF has pushed back four Rohingyas who were trying to enter India via an unfenced border stretch in Tripura. The BSF according to the report, have identified 75 vulnerable locations along a 21 KM stretch in the region. 17 Rohingyas have this year been caught along the Assam-Tripura border and they were handed over to the police for further action.
The BSF reportedly identifies the Rohingyas on the basis of their dialect which is different from that spoken in India and Bangladesh.
The BSF has also reportedly acted in a similar manner in West Bengal. After enhancing patrolling along 22 vulnerable spots along the North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, and Krishnanagar districts, the BSF officials question the Rohingyas (who try to pass themselves as Bangladeshis) whose Bengali accent then calls their bluff.
Of late, there have been reports about Rohingya terrorists killing Burmese Hindus with mass graves of victims being found, and it is suspected that some elements harbouring such radical feelings against non-Muslims could enter India proving to be a security threat. Some Hindu survivors have also recounted horrors of forceful religious conversions by Rohingyas in refugee camps of Bangladesh.
