Dozens of Rohingya, a Muslim minority inhabitants, at the moment are in a makeshift holding middle at Jammu's Hira Nagar jail. They have been recognized after native authorities performed biometric and different assessments on lots of of individuals to confirm their identities.
"The drive is part of an exercise to trace foreigners living in Jammu without valid documents," stated one of many two officers, who declined to be named as they aren't licensed to talk to the media.
"We have started the process of deportation of these refugees," the official added.
In 2019, the Indian authorities break up the previous state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, revoking its former restricted autonomy and rising New Delhi's management over the Muslim-majority area.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist authorities regards the Rohingya as unlawful immigrants and a safety threat, and has ordered that hundreds of them residing in scattered settlements be recognized and deported.
The Myanmar army has been accused of committing atrocities together with mass killings and rape towards the Muslim minority inhabitants, forcing almost 1,000,000 individuals to flee. Most now stay in ramshackle refugee camps on the border with Bangladesh. The UN has advisable that prime army officers face genocide costs.
Myanmar denies accusations of genocide and says the military was combating a official counter-insurgency marketing campaign.
However India has rejected the United Nations' place that deporting the Rohingya violates the worldwide authorized precept of refoulement -- sending refugees again to a spot the place they face hazard.
The Indian authorities has additionally argued that India just isn't signatory to the precise UN Conference Referring to the Standing of Refugees, nor the Protocol Referring to the Standing of Refugees. A complete of 148 nations are signatories to considered one of these two authorized agreements that define the rights of refugees and are supposed to shield them.
The Rohingya residing in Jammu stated they have been involved concerning the weekend's detentions and the specter of deportation.
"We will go back when peace returns to our country," stated Sufeera, 28. She stated her uncle and brother had been despatched to the holding middle, leaving her alone together with her kids.
One other refugee, 48-year-old Sadiq, stated members of his household had additionally been detained. "We have been told that we will be deported," he stated. "They took mother and father ... Who will take care of them?"