7 couples among 50 arrested, detained
*14 FIRs registered, Aadhaar
cards, other documents seized
*Deportation may be next step
after crushing support system
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 19: Police today launched major crackdown on support system of Rohingyas across six districts of Jammu region including Jammu, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Rajouri and Poonch and lodged 14 First Information Reports (FIRs), the highest seven in Jammu district, arrested and detained nearly 50 persons including seven married couples and booked 44 others amid reports that deportation of the illegal immigrants might be initiated later.
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This is for the first time that drive against those facilitating settlement of Rohingyas in Jammu by helping them manage Aadhaar, ration and voters cards etc, giving houses or plots on rent for living and assisting in electricity and water connections, was carried out by the police simultaneously in six districts of the Jammu region.
A former BJP Corporator was also detained for sheltering Rohingyas but was released later.
Seven FIRs have been registered in Jammu district, three in Doda and one each in Ramban, Poonch, Rajouri and Kishtwar districts. A total of 19 persons have been arrested while 44 others have been booked, the officials said, adding many others have been detained for questioning.
“Certain elements have been involved in facilitating the illegal settlement of Rohingyas, posing potential threats to the security and socio-economic fabric of the UT of J&K. The presence of undocumented and unauthorized individuals not only poses security challenges but also has the potential to strain local resources,” IGP Jammu Zone Anand Jain told reporters here this evening after police raids concluded in six districts.
He said Police have undertaken targeted operations to identify and apprehend the facilitators involved in providing shelter to the foreign immigrants.
“The actions taken are in accordance with the law and are aimed at maintaining law and order in the region. The facilitators, once apprehended, will be subject to legal proceedings, and any violation of laws pertaining to national security and immigration will be dealt with firmly,” Jain said.
Referring to registration of seven FIRs in Jammu, he said over 30 persons were detained for questioning during searches on 30 Rohingya settlements in the city.
DIG Jammu-Samba-Kathua Range Shakti Pathak told the Excelsior that the drive was aimed at identifying support system of Rohingyas and targeting them initially as they were facilitating their stay illegally.
“Seven FIRs have been registered at Trikuta Nagar, Channi Himmat, Bagh-e-Bahu, Nowabad, Satwari, Domana and Nagrota police stations in Jammu district. A total of 34 persons have been booked for facilitating stay of Rohingyas in Jammu including giving their houses on rent, vacant plots for construction of jhuggies; and arranging Aadhaar, ration and voters cards etc,’’ Pathak said, adding the facilitators of illegal immigrants have been targeted initially.
He added that some incriminating documents have been recovered which are being scrutinized for further investigations and action.
Pathak said houses of all 34 persons who facilitated stay of Rohingyas in Jammu were searched simultaneously this morning and some incriminating material and documents have been recovered for scrutiny and investigations.
There have been reports that some touts had been helping Rohingyas get electricity and power connections in their jhuggies or rented houses which, in turn, are used by them to manage Aadhaar, voter and ration cards to mix up with local population and get married here.
Arrest of seven married couples indicated that the Rohingyas had started mixing up with local population by getting necessary documents and could become potential security threat later.
Some of the officials said that action against facilitators of Rohingyas could be first step towards their deportation for which a policy might be worked out by the Government of India.
The searches in the presence of the Magistrates were conducted at different locations where the non-citizens are accommodated and also at the residential places of the facilitators, the officials said, adding that illegally acquired Indian documents like PAN cards, Aadhaar cards and bank documents among other incriminating materials were seized during the searches.
The IGP Jammu said the police is developing a mechanism for timely verification of antecedents of tenants, domestic helpers and hotel occupants for the overall security of the people.
Jain also said the operation against terrorists and their sympathizers will continue with more vigour in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri to ensure a peaceful atmosphere there.
“We are going to develop a mechanism soon for timely verification (of tenants, domestic helpers and hotel guests) so that no security threat emerges,” he said.
He was responding to a question about non-enthusiastic response of people to the police advisories to provide information about their tenants and domestic helpers to the nearest police station.
The IGP said the police have already taken necessary steps and are routinely carrying out searches at different places besides checking registries at hotels.
On the ongoing anti-terrorist operations in Rajouri and Poonch, he said the operations are on and will be further intensified to maintain peace in the border districts.
The IGP Jammu Zone said all the cases pertaining to Rohingyas and their facilitators are in their primary stages of investigation and a detailed picture will emerge as the probe moves forward, leading to more arrests in the process.
“Our primary focus was to identify the aiders and abettors who are helping the illegal immigrants to settle in Jammu region and also providing them necessary support to acquire basic services. They have taken it as a business,” Jain said.
He said an official was detained for questioning in Poonch for his role in helping Rohingyas to get certain documents.
“Legal action will follow against those who are involved in creating these forged documents,” he said, adding they will have a comprehensive approach looking into all angles including human trafficking and all agencies will be taken on board to take the investigations of the cases to their logical conclusion.
He said the searches led to the recovery of a lot of documents like Aadhaar cards, ration cards, voter ID cards, revenue records, rent deeds and passbooks besides mobile phones and SIM cards.
“Investigation into the matter has started and other details will be shared subsequently. Stringent action in the future shall be taken against all such defaulters,” the officials said.
Six men and their Rohingya wives were among 13 persons arrested from Kishtwar’s Dachhan area.
“The arrests were carried out on the basis of credible evidence, and the individuals are being investigated for their alleged involvement in activities contrary to law and public order,” the official said.
Four persons — Gulzar Ahmad Bhat and his Rohingya wife Rafiqa Begum, Manzoor Ahmad and Dilara Begum, who had also married a local — were booked at Dharamkund Police Station in Ramban district and arrested.
Foreigners and their facilitators were booked under charges of illegally procuring Indian documents like domicile certificates, Aadhar cards, ration cards, voter ID cards and PAN cards for stay in Ramban, police said.
Three persons, identified as Nazir Ahmad Gujjar, Mohd Sayaf, and Waseem Akram, were arrested for helping a Rohingya at Dhargloon village of Poonch district with a fake Aadhar card and ration card.
Gujjar, who had married off his daughter, Farzana Kosser, to Mohd Numaan, a Rohingya Muslim, in 2016, had managed fake Aadhaar card and ration card for his son-in-law, police said.
Numaan, who was arrested on November 30, is presently in judicial custody.
The spokesperson said that another facilitator, Lal Din, was arrested from his Laam-Nowshera residence in Rajouri district following an investigation of a case registered in October after the arrest of a Myanmar woman named Haleema, who is currently out on bail.
The spokesperson said the police have registered three FIRs in Doda district against 10 foreign immigrants, mainly Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals, and their facilitators, for illegally procuring Indian identity papers.
Two of these cases were registered at the Bhaderwah Police Station, while another case was lodged at the Gandoh Police Station.
An investigation in all three cases has been launched to ascertain the immigrants’ facilitators, as well as the Government employees involved in the facilitation of the Indian papers for them.
-Excelsior pics by Rakesh/ Rahi Kapoor
Thousands of Rohingyas entered India illegally through Bangladesh and took shelter in Jammu and other parts of the country following persecution in Myanmar.
According to Government data, more than 13,700 foreigners, most of them Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi nationals, are settled in Jammu and other districts of Jammu and Kashmir, where their population increased by over 6,000 between 2008 and 2016.
In March 2021, police found over 250 Rohingyas, including women and children, living illegally in Jammu city during a verification drive and lodged them in a holding centre inside the Kathua Sub-Jail.
Former BJP Corporator Sucha Singh was called for questioning by Nowabad police for giving shelter to Rohingyas in his plot. However, he was allowed to go as documents of the plot were on another name.
Meanwhile, the IGP Jammu said Jammu and Kashmir Police is fully capable of meeting any challenge.
Jain was speaking to media persons after inaugurating a cricket tournament organised by the police in the honour of its martyrs in Kathua district.
“The J&K Police is fully capable to meet any challenge and are promise-bound (to root out terrorism),” Jain said, responding to a question about the possibility of growing terrorist activities along the Jammu border during the ongoing winter.
Heavy snowfall along the Line of Control in Kashmir and parts of Jammu region closes the possible infiltration routes but the threat of infiltration multiplies along the International Border in Kathua, Samba and Jammu districts amidst foggy conditions.
Asked about the smuggling of narcotics from Punjab into Jammu and Kashmir, he said all cases are under investigation to expose all forward and backward links.
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