Can’t rule out Rohingya terror links: BSF report
NEW DELHI: The Border Security Force (BSF) has not caught any Rohingya with arms or terror links but it cannot be ruled out, KK Sharma, chief of the paramilitary force, said on Wednesday, adding that there were about 36,000 Rohingyas in the country.
“The threat that they have links with terror organisations is a very serious one. It has been given by our sister agencies and I don’t doubt them,” Sharma said on Wednesday. He said his troops apprehended 87 Rohingya Muslims along the India-bangladesh border in 2017 and 76 “had been sent back to Bangladesh”.
The annual report released by the BSF on Wednesday said agents lure Rohingyas with good job opportunities in India and motivate them that they will work with their own community in states such as J&K, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
“Apart from being a natural choice due to its Muslim majority, the Rohingyas say they pick J&K on economic considerations and most of them follow a similar pattern. Once a Rohingya reaches Jammu, he stays there for a few months and then invites other relatives, informing them of job opportunities and better pay,” it said.
In its annually collected data, released two days before its 52nd raising day, the BSF highlighted key issues and initiatives taken along the eastern border.
Issues such as Maoism, narcotics smuggling, fake Indian currency networks, illegal sale of arms and ammunition, cattle smuggling and illegal immigration of Rohingya Muslims rank high on the agenda of the force. The operational initiatives taken by BSF in 2017 have been on the eastern border with some of them waiting approval from the ministry of home affairs.
The BSF data between December 2016 and October 2017 — a period post demonetisation — suggested that fake Indian currency networks took a major hit after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement last year in November, but they continue to operate and have even replicated the new ₹2,000 note to the best of their “abilities”
This year till October 31, fake notes worth ₹50 lakh, all of ₹2,000 denomination, were seized by the BSF. In 2013, the force seized fake notes worth ₹95 lakh, followed by ₹1.9 crore in 2014, ₹2.8 crore in 2015 and ₹1.5 crore last year. The BSF also claimed to have penetrated areas previously considered safe havens for Left-wing extremists, apprehending 120 Maoists in Odisha and Chhattisgarh along with weapons.
In addition, the paramilitary force managed to recover over 10,000kg narcotics and seized 1.20 lakh cattle. Sharma said the government in Bangladesh, being “friendly”, had helped the force maintain law and order but more had to be done for its upkeep.