In a shocking revelation, it has been found that a number of Rohingya refugees have crossed over the border into India at a rate of Rs 25,000 per person.
As per a Zee News exclusive, these refugees illegally cross over through the India-Bangladesh border illegally, paying massive sums to escape atrocities bellowed out to the stateless community.
The Rohingya refugees explained how cattle smugglers are acting as agents to help cross over to Malda district, in exchange for few thousands of rupees.
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In September last year, Home Minister Rajnath Singh a seminar organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said that the Rohingyas were not refugees, but illegal immigrants.
"The Rohingyas are not refugees. They have not come here after following proper procedures. No Rohingya has applied for asylum. They are illegal immigrants," he said.
The home minister also said that India would not violate any international law by deporting Rohingyas as it was not a signatory to the UN Refugees Convention 1951.
The NHRC recently issued a notice to the Centre over its plan to deport Rohingyas, who are residing in various parts of India.
Singh had in December even asked five eastern states sharing boundaries with Bangladesh to be extra vigilant against influx of Rohingya and illegal immigrants through the porous Indo-Bangla border. He was interacting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and representatives of four other states here on Thursday.
After a two-hour meeting at Nabanna, the state secretariat, which, Singh described as 'very fruitful', the Union Home minister told reporters: "West Bengal chief minister has assured me of all necessary cooperation on making land available both for setting up new border outposts (BOPs) as well as for raising barbed fence at the unfenced borders. I have requested the representatives of all the five states having borders with Bangladesh to take personal interest to expedite land acquisition in the interest of national security."
He admitted that of the 4,096-km-long Indo-Bangladesh border across the five states, only 3,006 km had barbed fence, roads, floodlights and BOPs.
"Works over the rest of 1,090 km are yet to be started. Of the 1,090 kilometres, 684 will be secured with fence and related infrastructure, while 406 kms will be covered by non-physical barrier," Singh said.
Non-physical barrier would comprise technological intervention such as radar, day-night cameras and sensors. He added that a border protection grid consisting of both physical and non-physical barriers will be in place and will be manned together by state police as well as state and Central agencies. "The grid will be supervised by a state-level standing committee which would function under the chairmanship of the government's working chief secretary," he said.
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