At least 155 illegal immigrant Rohingyas who escaped persecution in Myanmar and were living in Jammu and Kashmir were on Saturday sent to a ‘holding centre’, under section 3(2)e of the Foreigners Act. The immigrants were not holding valid travel documents required under section (3) of the Passports Act, officials told CNN-News18.
The exercise of identifying more such immigrants is ongoing and the Jammu and Kashmir administration is collecting biometric and other details of Rohingyas staying in Jammu, officials said.
After sending them to the said centre, their nationality verification will be carried out, after which illegal illegal immigrants will be deported, officials said.
The Rohingyas are a Bengali-dialect speaking Muslim minority in Myanmar. Following persecution in their country, many of them entered India illegally through Bangladesh and took shelter in Jammu and other parts of India.
The verification process of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar was carried out at the MAM Stadium here amid high security, officials said. Under the drive, their biometric and other details, such as place of stay, were collected, they added.
"We filled up forms after conducting COVID-19 test. Our fingerprints were taken," Abdul Hanan, a Myanmar national, told reporters here. He said after the screening process he left the stadium.
Certain political parties and social organisations, had urged the Centre to take immediate steps for the deportation of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis alleging that their presence is a "conspiracy”.
More than 13,700 foreigners, including Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi nationals, are settled in Jammu and Samba districts.
(With inputs from PTI)