Rajnath Singh to meet CMs of states bordering Bangladesh

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will meet the chief ministers of states bordering Bangladesh on December 7 to discuss a strategy to counter the entry of Rohingya and other illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and also discuss how to combat cross-border smuggling.

The meeting, to be held in Kolkata, will be attended by the chief ministers of Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram, and will focus on ways to stop illegal immigration, officials said.

According to estimates, nearly 36,000 Rohingya, who have faced persecution in Myanmar, are currently living in different parts of India.

The Home Ministry had earlier in an affidavit to Supreme Court stated that Rohingya living in India could have links with terror groups and advised state governments to identify the suspects.

Fake currency, smuggling of narcotics and human trafficking are also major issues that will be discussed in the meeting.

KK Sharma, Director General of BSF, had last week said his troops apprehended 87 Rohingya Muslims along the Indo-Bangla border starting January to October 31, and 76 were sent back to Bangladesh.

India shares a 4,096 km long border with Bangladesh, of which 2,217 km falls in West Bengal, 262 km in Assam, 443 km in Meghalaya, 856 km in Tripura, and 180 km in Mizoram.

As per latest estimates, 9-10 lakh Rohingya Muslims have migrated to Bangladesh from Myanmar and the possibility of a spillover to India cannot be ruled out.

Earlier, there have been meetings with chief ministers of states sharing borders with Pakistan, China, and Myanmar.