Dozens of Rohingya Refugees Detained in Delhi

Arakan Now – 7 May 2025

Dozens of Rohingya refugees, including those with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards, have been detained in multiple raids in New Delhi’s Uttam Nagar since Tuesday night. David Nazir, a Rohingya activist, revealed that some detainees, including his parents, were transported to the airport on Wednesday, sparking fears of deportation.

Nazir, a Rohingya Christian living in Uttam Nagar, said that other refugees have gone into hiding, fearing further police raids. House owners in the area have reportedly been warned against accommodating Rohingya refugees. Nazir shared the names of 29 detained individuals, including 15 men and 5 women, whose UNHCR card details were provided.

Videos from the detained refugees, shared with Maktoob, show them seated inside a bus, hinting at the possibility of deportation.

India has stepped up its crackdown on the Rohingya refugees, a community already persecuted in Myanmar. An estimated 40,000 Rohingyas have sought asylum in India, with 18,000 of them officially registered with the UNHCR. However, India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, meaning Rohingyas in the country are often labeled as illegal immigrants under Indian law.

This legal status has led to arbitrary detentions and deportations, even of individuals registered with the UNHCR. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has urged India to cease the arbitrary detention of Rohingyas and avoid forcible deportations to Myanmar, where they would face grave risks.

In 2017, Myanmar’s military forces killed around 25,000 Rohingyas and drove over 750,000 from their homeland, amid mass atrocities. In 2022, the United States officially determined that Myanmar’s military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya people.

Source: Maktoob Media

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