J&K cracks down on illegal immigrants, over 12 arrested
‘Stern action against locals helping Rohingyas, Bangladeshis settle in UT’
IN NEIGHBOURING Kishtwar, the district police raided four residential houses this week in the wake of reports of illegal settlers from Myanmar staying in it
Jammu and Kashmir authorities have warned of stern action against those who are found involved in facilitating foreign immigrants — including those from Myanmar and Bangladesh — to settle down in the Union territory (UT) after their illegal entry into India. “Such unlawful behaviour will not be tolerated. The police has been asked to register the FIR immediately against anyone who is found to have committed the offence. Stern legal action will follow it,” said a government official in Jammu on Tuesday.
The warning has come in the wake of the renewed crackdown by J&K police and other law enforcement agencies on the Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in various parts of the UT, that has found that many of illegal migrants were helped by locals in obtaining various proof of identity (POI) documents including Aadhaar and voter-ID card.
More than a dozen people have been arrested or detained for questioning by the police in Doda, Kishtwar and Poonch districts.
Three FIRs have been registered against the illegal migrants and their alleged facilitators in Doda and Poonch, the police sources said. The police said nine Rohingyas and one Bangladeshi national were facing legal action for illegally obtaining Aadhaar, voter-ID, PAN and ration cards and even domicile certificates on forged documents showing their permanent residents of the Doda district.
They have been identified as Shabnam Begum, Raheela Begum, Shakeela Begum, Boor Bahaar, Zeenat Begum, Jahan Ara, Meem Bano, Muskan Banoo and Zavaira Begum — all residents of Myanmar.
The Bangla-deshi national accused of violating visa norms, and. procuring Indian POI during her overstaying is Nusrat Jahan, originally a resident of Dhaka.
In neighbouring Kishtwar, the district police raided four residential houses earlier this week after receiving reports that illegal settlers from Myanmar were staying in it. The action followed the registration of an FIR under Sections 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code at the Dachan Police Station. “We had received reports that some Rohingyas are staying in the area illegally. We have collected documentary evidence and seized incriminating materials during these raids,” said SSP Kishtwar Mohammad Khalil Poswal.
Ravinder Raina, president of J&K BJP unit, said: “We sympathise with Rohingyas. But given the situation prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir, there is a possibility of anti-national forces using them against India. They should be taken out of Jammu and settled somewhere else.”