ATS detains 83 Rohingya Muslims illegally staying in UP's Mathura

After examining their papers, over 80 Rohingya refugees were arrested and taken on a bus to a detention centre. The arrested Rohingya Muslims were living illegally in the slums in UP's Mathura district.

Mathura: In a major crackdown against Rohingya Muslims staying in slums in UP's Mathura district, the joint team of the Anti-Terror Squad and the local police arrested at least 83 Bangladeshi immigrants on Sunday night. Acting on inputs at around 2 am on Sunday night, a group of ATS team, along with district police, conducted raids on Alhapur and Kota villages of the district. The joint operation lasted for nearly eight hours. The ATS team and police were checking the documents and valid papers of the Bangladeshi immigrants staying in the slums.

After checking their papers, over 80 Rohingya refugees were rounded up and taken in a bus. The arrested Rohingya Muslims were living illegally in the slums in the district. The UP ATS team carried out raids in a confidential manner. Mathura City SP Martand Prakash Singh said, "The whole operation was conducted by the ATS. They can only shed more information about these arrests. Nearly, 80 Rohingya Muslims were arrested by the ATS following a tip-off. They were living in slums illegally."

It may be recalled that over 200 Rohingyas from Myanmar lodged at a "holding centre" in Jammu for the past two years, were staging a protest. The protesters also clashed with guards inside the Hiranagar sub-jail. They were demanding their release from the detention centre. Altogether 271 Rohingyas, including 74 women and 70 children, have been lodged at the sub-jail, which was notified as a "holding centre" on March 5, 2021, for detaining illegal immigrants. However, a senior police officer had dismissed the protest as "normal".