National Investigation Agency begins probe in Rohingya case

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started investigating the link between a suspected human trafficking racket in the Barak Valley and 26 Rohingya Muslims who were arrested in Silchar last Saturday.

A team of NIA sleuths arrived at the Silchar Central Jail on Friday and interrogated some of the Rohingyas who had reportedly come from Jammu & Kashmir to Silchar in search of jobs. The Rohingya group included seven children, who were sent to a juvenile home. The NIA team, however, refused to make any comment to the media.

Nevertheless, the district police, after preliminary investigation, suspects that one Jakir Hussain and another person from the Chamragodam area of Silchar town are behind the Rohingya episode. Drivers of the SUVs which the Rohingyas hired from the Kamakhya railway station to reach Silchar, also mentioned the name of Jakir. The drivers even heard the male of members of the Rohingya group speaking to Jakir over phone several times during the journey.

The Rohingya episode is another eye-opener as to how porous the Indo-Bangladesh border actually is. Three Rohingya families, headed by Mohammad Alom, Mohammad Ullah and Mohammad Ayub, reached a refugee camp in Coxbazar of Bangladesh from Myanmar in 2012. Subsequently, they illegally entered West Bengal through the Bangladesh-Hili border with the help of a human trafficking gang. The Rohingyas then shifted to another camp in Kashmir, where they met Abdul Malik, an inmate of the camp. Malik reportedly had links with Jakir, a resident of Silchar. Jakir reportedly used to maintain liaison with the Rohingyas staying in various camps.

A few months ago the NIA busted a human trafficking gang in Bangalore and seized a bundle of fake Adhaar cards. Further investigation revealed that the Kumkum gang was running a human trafficking racket. Kumkum, the kingpin of the gang, was a resident of Katigorah in the Cachar district.

Also Read: 26 Rohingyas detained by police in Cachar

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