(Representative image)

PATNA:The Rohingya people are minorities in Myanmar who are the victims of alleged discriminatory policies of the Myanmar government in Rakhine state, which have caused hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas to flee the country.

The matter came to light when two natives of Rakhine were arrested from general coach of Purvottar Sampark Kranti Express at Barauni railway junction on October 29 by a team of Barauni government rail police (GRP).

The J&K-bound duo – Mustafa Kamaal (23) and Mohammad Salim (24) – told the ATS that a group of people facilitated their infiltration into India via Bangladesh. A cellphone and sim cards of Myanmar, Bangladesh and India were recovered from the possession of the duo.

“During nearly 10-hour interrogation by two ATS officers, the duo admitted that they were in touch with a group of people engaged in anti-India activities in J&K. They also told the ATS officers that many Rohingya refugees had successfully entered J&K and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the past,” said an ATS officer on the condition of anonymity.

He added that the two stayed at a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, for almost a year before entering India via the India-Bangladesh international border near Agartala in Tripura. The officer said the duo boarded the Delhi-bound train in Guwahati.

A top Bihar Police special branch officer said they had intelligence inputs that Rohingya refugees were being trafficked to J&K with the help of Pakistan’s Inter-services Intelligence (ISI).

Bihar ATS SP Sunil Kumar Jha said the two arrested Myanmaris were still being interrogated. “I can only confirm that the duo entered India via Bangladesh. They were on way to J&K to join anti-India activities,” Jha said.