Information sought by the West Bengal government on one of more than 100 Rohingya held in the State’s prisons, is being delayed for a reason described as “unusual” by a senior official.
“The State’s Home Department has sought information about the citizenship of one person assuming the man is a Rohingya. The Ministry of External Affairs in Kolkata has forwarded the request to the Chinese Consulate in Kolkata but the verification form that the Consulate has sent is in Burmese,” the official said.
According to the official, once it is confirmed that the person is a Rohingya, the process to deport him can be started. “But the process is stuck as the form is in Burmese,” he said.
Wife appeals for asylum
The man’s wife in Hyderabad has appealed for asylum for the family in India, a separate government source told The Hindu .
The Delhi-based Rohingya Human Rights Initiative has provided a list of 170 alleged Rohingya currently held in jails across Bengal.
“I can’t give you the exact number but it is about 170 and again I can’t provide exact figure about the asylum seekers. But based on our primary and secondary survey, I can conclude that about half of them are keen to have asylum in India,” said Mr. Sabber, founder of the Initiative, who is also seeking asylum.
Many of the refugees also “hold refugee status as mandated by the United Nations,” he said.
Police officials said they were “unsure” about the exact number of Rohingya who have reached the State following the exodus of August, 2017. “There are human traffickers who are bringing people from Bangladesh but we are not aware of their exact size.”
