Eight Rohingyas arrested from Hatta
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 21 2018: Altogether eight Rohingyas from Myanmar and one local woman who arranged their accommodation have been arrested from Hatta Golapati, Imphal East this morning.

Briefing media persons this evening, DIG K Jayenta said that Imphal East District Police, acting on separate inputs, carried out a search operation at Hatta Golapati from 5 am to 8.30 am.

In the course of the search operation, nine suspected persons, 4 females and 5 males, were detained for verification.

Four of them have been identified as Mohammad Younus (27) S/o Abdul Hakim, Mohammad Anwar (28) S/o Kulla Miya, Md Ismaile (28) S/o Md Savar Ahamad and Mrs Sultana (27) of Thoubal Moijing w/o Md Ayub, who is originally from Pingladesh presently staying Golapati.

Together with them, two 18 year old girls, one 18 year old boy and one 15 year old girl and one eight year old boy were also detained.

Eight Rohingyas arrested from Hatta

Four mobile phones, two ID cards issued by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and four fake Aadhaar cards were recovered from their possession, said the DIG.

On verification Mohammad Younus and Mohammad Anwar stated that they left their country Myanmar in the year 2015 and stayed at a refugee camp at Bangladesh and entered India illegally without any proper documents through one Bangladesh agent.

On reaching Kolkata, they proceeded towards Delhi with one Muslim Indian agent for applying UNHCR (United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees) ID card and then went to Bethindi Bitatanagar, Jammu & Kashmir and stayed there.

From there they came to Imphal on May 16, 2018 and stayed at Golapati in a rented room of Md Jamaruddin (70) S/o (Late) Md Turak Ali of Hatta Golapati Maning Leikai looking for means of livelihood.

Another detainee Md Ismaile, S/o Md.Savar Ahamad of Buthidaung Block-II, Myanmar stated that he along with five others, ie two 18 years old girls, one girl of 15 years, one boy of 18 years and one boy of 8 years who are native people/citizens of Myanmar migrated to Bangladesh during the Rohingya Muslim crisis in Myanmar in September last year and stayed at a refugee camp for about 8 months in Bangladesh.

Then, they came to India through one Muslim agent (name not disclosed) by crossing the India-Bangladesh border (location not known) illegally and went to Kolkata.

Again, through another India agent (name not disclosed) they were brought to Guwahati through train and then the agent sent them by bus to Imphal.

He further stated that they reached Imphal on May 18,2 018 and stayed at Hata Golapati at the rented house of one Mrs Sultana (27) who is from Thoubal Moijing at present staying at Golapati in arented room of Md Jamaruddin.

Mrs Sultana (27) is married to Md Ayub who is from Bangladesh but now staying at Malaysia.

On preliminary enquiry it is revealed that Mrs Sultana (27) W/o Md Ayub and a daughter of Md Banarashid of Thoubal Moijing Awang Leikai stated that her husband instructed her to provide shelter and their accommodation to the above mentioned Rohingyas through mobile phone.

She further said that her husband left Manipur some five years ago but keeps in touch through her mobile phone, Jayenta conveyed.

Further-investigation is going on to establish the whole racket, added the DIG.

Reacting to an article published in a National daily which projected Manipur Police as being discriminatory towards the Muslim community, the DIG clarified that Muslims were found involved in maximum cases of drug smuggling, vehicle theft, smuggling of arms and other illegal activities including transportation of illegal immigrants to the State.

Manipur Police never discriminates people based on community or religion, the DIG clarified.