There are reports of some Rohingya migrants indulging in illegal activities, according to a written reply from the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The response came on the queries of members Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt and Sanjay Ramchandra Patil about the current situation of Rohingya living illegally in various parts of the country.
The Ministry said the Centre had issued instructions to the State governments and Union Territory administrations, advising them to sensitise the law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take appropriate steps for prompt identification of illegal migrants.
They needed to be restricted to specified locations as per law, their biographic and biometric particulars captured and any fake Indian documents issued to them cancelled. Legal proceedings, including initiation of deportation process, should be launched. “Consolidated instructions to tackle the issue of overstay and illegal migration of foreign nationals have also been issued on March 30, 2021,” said the written reply.
“India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereon. All foreign nationals (including refuge seekers) are governed by the provisions contained in the Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and the Citizenship Act, 1955, and rules and orders made thereunder,” it said.
The foreign nationals who enter the country without valid travel documents are treated as illegal migrants. “Since illegal migrants enter into the country without valid travel documents in clandestine and surreptitious manner, accurate data regarding number of such migrants living in the country is not Centrally available,” said the Ministry.
