12 people, suspected to be Rohingya, held in Mizoram

A total of 12 people, suspected to be Rohingya Muslims from Bangladesh, were arrested in Mizoram for entering the State without valid travel documents, a police officer said on Monday.

Eight women and four boys from Bangladesh were taken from a house to Bawngkawn police station here on Sunday, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Northern Range) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte said.

It is suspected that they might be victims of human trafficking.

Mr. Khiangte said the arrested people had mobile phones without sim cards in their possession.

Investigation is on to find out their identities.

The 12 people were found in the



residence of a woman who claimed that her cousin who lived at Tahan in Myanmar had asked for her a favour to keep the ‘guests’ before they were taken to the neighbouring country.

In late April, eight Rohingya women were detained at India-Myanmar border Vairengte town for trying to enter Mizoram illegally and were pushed back.

They had claimed that they were from Kutupalong refugee camp at Sabulara in Bangladesh and were abducted on April 19 by a group of men who brought them to Mizoram by truck.

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine state to neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2017 after a military crackdown, triggering a massive refugee crisis.