Assam police say they plan to send seven Rohingya Muslims back to Myanmar, in the first deportation of members of the Myanmar minority group since the Home Ministry ordered state authorities last year to identify and deport them and other illegal immigrants.
Senior police officer Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta says the seven were arrested in 2012 for entering India illegally and have been held in an Assam state prison.
Mr. Mahanta said the seven are likely to be handed over to Myanmar border guards on Thursday.
An estimated 40,000 Rohingya have taken refuge in various parts of India. Less than 15,000 are registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
About 700,000 other Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh to escape a brutal campaign of violence by Myanmar’s military.