More than 50 people, including seven married couples, were either detained or arrested on Tuesday in a major crackdown against those harbouring Rohingya immigrants and facilitating their stay with illegal papers in Jammu, the police said.
About a dozen FIRs were registered during the day-long drive aimed at ensuring national security and safeguarding the interests of the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Anand Jain told reporters in Jammu on Tuesday evening.
"Certain elements have been involved in facilitating the illegal settlement of Rohingyas, posing potential threats to the security and socio-economic fabric of the UT of J&K. The presence of undocumented and unauthorised individuals not only poses security challenges but also has the potential to strain local resources," the IGP said.
"The actions taken are in accordance with the law and are aimed at maintaining law and order in the region. The facilitators, once apprehended, will be subject to legal proceedings, and any violation of laws pertaining to national security and immigration will be dealt with firmly," he said.
He said over 30 people were detained for questioning during searches in 30 Rohingya settlements in Jammu city.
The police earlier said 21 people were arrested from Kishtwar, Ramban, Poonch and Rajouri districts, while 10 Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals were booked in Doda.
"Some locals have provided their plots of land to settle the outside immigrants. We are checking and identifying these facilitators, who are also availing the government benefits for them," deputy inspector general, Jammu-Samba-Kathua range, Shakti Pathak, told reporters outside a Rohingya settlement in Jammu.
Pathak, who was supervising the crackdown, said some 30 locations under seven police stations were searched in the Jammu city.
The IGP said all cases are in primary stages of investigation and a full picture will emerge as the probe moves forward, and may lead to more arrests.
"Our primary focus was to identify the aiders and abettors who are helping the illegal immigrants to settle and also providing them necessary support to acquire basic services. They have taken it as a business," Jain said.
He said an official was detained for questioning in Poonch for his role in helping Rohingyas to get certain documents.
Jain said police will be looking into several angles, including that of human trafficking, in the matter.
The searches led to the recovery of a lot of documents like Aadhaar cards, ration cards, voter ID cards, revenue records, rent deeds and passbooks besides mobile phones and SIM cards, he said.
Earlier, a police spokesperson said that seven FIRs were lodged at Satwari, Trikuta Nagar, Bagh-e-Bahu, Channi Himmat, Nowabad, Domana and Nagrota police stations against people accused of providing shelter to the foreign immigrants.
The searches were conducted in the presence of the magistrates, the police said.
"Investigation into the matter has started and other details will be shared subsequently," the spokesperson said.
Six men and their Rohingya wives were among 13 persons arrested from Kishtwar's Dachhan area.
"The arrests were carried out on the basis of credible evidence, and the individuals are being investigated for their alleged involvement in activities contrary to law and public order," the official said.
A couple was among four persons were booked at the Dharamkund police station in Ramban district and arrested, while three persons were arrested for helping a Rohingya at Dhargloon village of Poonch district with a fake Aadhaar card and ration card.
The arrested persons included Nazir Ahmad Gujjar, who had married off his daughter, Farzana Kosser, to Mohd Numaan, a Rohingya Muslim, in 2016, and managed to get a fake Aadhaar card and ration card for his son-in-law, the police said.
Numaan, who was arrested on November 30, is presently in judicial custody, they said.
The spokesperson said that another facilitator, Lal Din, was arrested from his Laam-Nowshera residence in Rajouri district following investigation into a case registered in October after the arrest of a Myanmar-born woman named Haleema, who is currently out on bail.
The spokesperson said the police have registered three FIRs in Doda district against 10 foreign immigrants, mainly Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals, and their facilitators, for illegally procuring Indian identity papers.
Two of these cases were registered at the Bhaderwah Police Station, while another case was lodged at the Gandoh Police Station, he said.
He said an investigation in all three cases has been launched to ascertain the immigrants' facilitators, as well as the government employees involved in the facilitation of the Indian papers for them.
Thousands of Rohingyas entered India illegally through Bangladesh and took shelter in Jammu and other parts of the country following persecution in Myanmar.
In March 2021, police found over 250 Rohingyas, including women and children, living illegally in Jammu city during a verification drive and lodged them in a holding centre inside the Kathua Sub-Jail.
