Border Security Force (BSF) Director General K.K. Sharma said on Wednesday that they had instructions to push back the Rohingya to Bangladesh as they become a “liability” once they are arrested.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Sharma said this year they apprehended 87 Rohingya Muslims along the border, and 76 were “sent back to Bangladesh.”
He said it was difficult to distinguish between Rohingya and Bangladeshis as they had similar facial features and the BSF personnel were not equipped to differentiate between the two on the basis of dialect.
“Our mandate is very clear that we do not allow any illegal immigration into India,” Mr. Sharma said.
“So, whosoever tries to cross (the border) we send them back. We don’t arrest them as that becomes a liability as deportation is difficult and none of the countries accepts them back. Our policy is not to allow anyone to enter India illegally,” Mr. Sharma said.
He said that around 36,000 Rohingya were present in various parts of the country and the BSF was prepared to stop their entry into India as their links with terror organisations could not be ruled out.
He said the border guarding force had not come across any specific case where a Rohingya they caught possessed arms, ammunition or had terror connection.
“But, the input that they have some links with terror organisations is a very serious one and has been given by our sister agencies and I don’t doubt them,” Mr. Sharma said. He said the force has bolstered its manpower and surveillance equipment at “vulnerable” posts along the Bangladesh border to check the illegal influx of Rohingya.
“Rohingya is a very complicated issue. As per the latest estimate, 9-10 lakh of them have migrated to Bangladesh (from Myanmar) and the possibility of a spillover coming to India cannot be ruled out,” he said.
An official note provided by the BSF during the press conference said, “Agents allure Rohingya with [offer of] good job opportunities in India and motivate [them] that they will work with their own Muslim community in some of the States such as Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.”
It said that most of the Rohingya go to Jammu because some Rohingya are already staying there for the last few years.
