NEW DELHI: Seven Rohingya Muslims, who were deported to Myanmar on Thursday, had illegally come to India in 2012 and had themselves expressed the desire to return to their home country in 2016, government sources said.
The illegal immigrants were arrested by Assam Police under the Foreigner’s Act and in July 2012, they were awarded a three-month sentence by the chief judicial magistrate of Cachar at Silchar, Assam, home ministry officials said. The magistrate had also passed a direction for their deportation.
After completion of their sentence, the immigrants continued to be lodged at Cachar Central Jail. In 2016, these immigrants approached the Myanmar embassy for their return.
“They wrote to the embassy through the district magistrate who forwarded the matter to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In 2016, the Myanmar embassy started the process of verification of their identities,” said a senior ministry official. All were confirmed by Myanmar as residents of Keito village in Faida district.
Officials asserted that the immigrants were “keen” to return and even thanked the Assam government for the treatment meted out to them during their incarceration.
An official quoted the undertaking given by one of the immigrants on Wednesday: “After completion of my sentence period, I was detained in Silchar. Jail authorities have ensured safe and comfortable departure.”
This is the first time Rohingya immigrants have been sent back to Myanmar from India. The government had informed Parliament last year that over 14,000 Rohingya people, registered with the UN refugee agency UNHCR, stay in India.