8 Arrested In Crackdown On Network That Helped Illegal Entry Of Rohingya

Assam Police has busted a network helping Rohingya infiltration via the Northeast with the help of fake documents and arrested eight persons.

The racket involving Indians as well as Bangladeshi citizens forged documents, including Aadhaar, to help the Rohingya enter the country illegally with a fake identity, said officials.

The racket was busted during an operation conducted by five teams of the Assam Special Task Force in bordering districts of Tripura, days after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma raised an alarm over Rohingya infiltration in the Northeast.

"During the operation, a total of eight touts were apprehended who are suspected to be involved in the illegal business of helping the Rohingya Muslims cross into the Indian Territory. They used fake IDs and travel documents to pass Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis as Indian citizens," said STF chief PS Mahanta.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Passport Act.

"Theie modus operandi involved bringing the Rohingiya Muslims into India from Bangladesh for ulterior motives, having the propensity to cause internal disturbance, thereby threatening the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country," added Mr Mahanta.

They facilitated train journeys to Delhi and other major cities across the country for these illegal immigrants from Kumarghat railway station in Tripura using fake documents, he said.

The STF chief said further probe is on to crack down on the illegal network of touts involved in such anti-India activities.

Chief Minister Sarma last week raised an alarm over the Rohingya infiltration situation in the Northeast.

"There is a network of brokers who bring the Rohingya into Tripura and from there to Assam and the rest of the country. Our cops are in Tripura now working with the state government to take action against them," he had said.

Tripura Police had reacted affirmatively to Mr Sarma's tweet and said they are "strongly determined to take action against illegal migration, including Rohingya, in coordination with other agencies. This year, till June, a total 354 illegal immigrants, including Rohingyas and border touts/facilitators, have been arrested by Tripura Police."

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said that of the 856-km India-Bangladesh border with Tripura, a 50-km patch could not be fenced due to various reasons including objection by the border guards of Bangladesh.

Infiltrators, smugglers and drug peddlers are misusing trans-border movement to carry out illegal trade through these unfenced frontiers, Mr Saha had said during the just concluded state Assembly session.