By Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : Five suspected Rohingya women have been detained by the police on Tuesday from Churaibadi Gate in Tripura. According to sources, the five suspected Rohingyas were on their way to Karimganj in Assam but were nabbed by authorities at Tripura’s Churaibari Gate along with the broker who had taken a sum of six thousand INR from them. The Rohingyas entered India through the Indo-Bangla border near Tripura capital Agartala with the help of a broker. They were nabbed while on their way to Assam on a vehicle with registration number TR01AK-0211. The five Rohingya women have been identified as Jannat, Aabija, Saleha, Rabika, and Rasheeda. The five women and the broker Shyamal Miya have been detained by authorities. It may be mentioned that the Rohingyas are an ethnic group, the majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar.

Currently, there are about 1.1 million Rohingya in the Southeast Asian country. They are not considered one of the country’s 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless. A top police official said the Rohingya girls were came from Tripura and the broker helped them to enter Assam. “During interrogation, the girls revealed that, they are hailing from Myanmar and entered into India without valid documents. They entered into India through Tripura-Bangladesh border with the help of broker. The broker had taken Rs 6000 each from them and promised to give secured shelter in Karimganj district,” the top police official said.

The arrested Rohingya girls were identified as Jannat, Abiza, Saleha, Rabika and Rashida. Police also arrested one broker named Shyamal Miya. On Jan 21 this year, 30 Rohingyas including 12 minors were arrested by police from a Guwahati-bound passenger bus in Assam’s Karimganj district along with Assam-Tripura border. On Feb 2 last, seven Assam bound Rohingya children were arrested by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) from a railway station in Tripura. In last year, Manipur police had arrested a couple hailing from Uttar Pradesh for their alleged involvement in the trafficking of Rohingyas from Myanmar into Manipur. On Apr 8 last year, Manipur police commandos had arrested two Rohingyas, who entered into the north eastern state via Moreh border without valid documents. On the other hand, Manipur police had arrested three other Rohingyas on March 22 last year near Moreh town in Tengnoupal district along with Myanmar border.