Over a dozen Rohingya refugees in Jammu-Kashmir were reportedly detained by the Indian police on the allegation of holding fake documents of UNHCR since 17th April, 2022.
At 11: 30 AM, on 17 April (sunday), about 20 police raided a refugee shelter, a tent belonging to Jafar Alam, son of Abul Kashim, and arrested Alam among the eleven family members on the accusation of holding a fake UNHCR document, siad an eyewitness.
Alam insisted to the police that he obtained his identity card from the UNHCR office legally but they did not accept it. Then the police accused him of holding a fake identity, and took him to the police station with handcuffs,the eyewitness continued.
A relative of the victim said, “He has been detained there since the day when he was arrested and later, he will be sent to Hiranagar Police Station in Kathua, Jammu, India where he will be prosecuted”
Similarly, the police raided another Rohingya refugee shelter where all of the family members have got the original UNHCR document as refugees. The police did it on the same day and the family consists of six members- mother, father, 2 sons and 2 daughters, said an anonymous refugee.
Just after entering into the shelter, the police arrested three of them, mother, elder daughter and elder son alleging that they are using fake UNHCR documents.
When the mother was handcuffed, she said, “I have no way except going with the police but my appeal to the police is to arrest the whole family as I don’t want to leave my baby that will cry for my breastfeeding”
But the heartless police didn’t listen to her and took three of them to the police station saying that they won’t punish the innocent people, the refugee added.
The mother, Katija Begum, unavoidably followed the police with her tearful eyes as she had been forced to leave the baby with father since11 AM. When a few hours passed, the baby started crying as she was not breastfed.
When it was 5 pm, the father, finding no way, went to the Rohingya leaders and community organization and requested them to go to the police and appeal to them to keep the baby with mother in the detention center.
The police eventually accepted the appeal and put the baby with her mother in the detention center, the refugee continued.
Another refugee said one more Rohingya man who was on the way to shelter was arrested accusing him in the same way last Monday.
According to the refugees, more than a dozen Rohingya refugees holding original UNHCR identity cards were arrested and detained in Jammu-Kashmir within three days. Police along with anti-Muslim politicians in the region have plotted to harass and torture the Rohingya refugees for being Muslims.
Thus, Rohingya refugees in Jammu-Kashmir earnestly appeal to the international community and the organizations concerned to take a prompt and effective measure to rescue them from the unexpected and heinous behaviors of the Indian police towards refugees.
Reported By: Staff Correspondent
Editor- Md. Shuaib