The Assam government on Wednesday sent seven Rohingya Muslims from a detention camp to Manipur, from where they are expected to be deported on Thursday.
The seven Rohingya men were lodged in southern Assam’s Silchar Central Jail – also a detention camp for foreigners – since 2012. Their term in detention for illegally entering India got over a long time ago, but the deportation process took time, officials said.
“They left the camp in a bus at 6.30 a.m. for Manipur, from where they will be handed over to Myanmar authorities at a border post,” S. Lakshmanan, Cachar district’s Deputy Commissioner, said. Silchar is the headquarters of Cachar district.
The seven are being escorted by a team led by P.V.V. Rakesh Reddy, Cachar’s Additional Superintendent of Police, who monitored their release. “The matter was initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he told reporters in Silchar.
The bus is scheduled to reach Manipur capital Imphal, 250 km from Silchar, by Thursday morning. The deportation is scheduled at Moreh, a border town about 105 km southeast of Imphal.
The seven deportees are Mohammad Sabir Ahmed, Mohammad Inus, Mohammad Jamal, Mohammad Salam, Mohammad Mukbul Khan, Mohammad Rohimuddin, and Mohammad Jamal Hussain.