BGP Releases Teenage Rohingya on Ransom after Abduction

October 19, 2021

The Border Guard Police (BGP) abducted a teenage Rohingya from U Shin Kya village, north of Maungdaw in Rakhine state on October 16 and reportedly released him on ransom at night.

On October 16, BGP from the camp based in Yemyat Taung village, at around 5 pm, arrived in U Shin Kya village (locally Burashida Farah) to hunt down the human traffickers, some of the villagers said.

As no perpetrators were found in the village, BGP members were vagabonding for not getting a chance of extortion.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old son of Shamshul Houqe from Ward 2 was found in a field by BGP and handcuffed and taken to the camp soon, the villagers added.

BGP had already known that he had nothing to do with the traffickers and so, released him demanding 600,000 kyat as a ransom at around 8pm on the same day, an eyewitness reported to Rvision.

An activist said, “If the authorities do not find any culprit, they will deliberately arrest an innocent Rohingya. Despite committing no crime, he is extorted a lot of money. Releasing after extortion by BGP is like kidnapping the Rohingyas with legal weapons. So far no real traffickers have been arrested yet.”

Deliberate arrest and extortion by border guards are not just religious and racial discrimination and persecution to the Rohingya Muslims, but a kidnapping for ransom.

Reported By: Maung Htay

Edited By: Md. Shuaib