The police continued struggling to limit the movement of Rohingyas, the ethnic minority people of Myanmar who entered Bangladesh fleeing violence in their homeland Rakhine State, within the demarcated areas in Cox’s Bazar.
The police on Saturday issued an advisory asking the citizens not to rent their houses to any Rohingya to help keep them in the Cox’s Bazar camps only.
The police headquarters earlier issued necessary instructions to all of its units across the country, following a meeting on September 10 with the heads of all security and law enforcing agencies chaired by home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
In its advisory, the police headquarters asked transport workers and people concerned to stay alert so that Rohingyas could not travel out of Cox’s Bazar. It also asked citizens to inform local administrations if Rohingyas took shelter other than government demarcated lands.
Cox’s Bazar district administration conducted series of operations and searches along Cox’s Bazar–Tekhnaf road and even beyond to keep Rohingyas around Kutupalang at Ukhia.
The authorities in various districts, including Manikganj and Sunamganj, said they rescued over 30 Rohingyas who wished to settle in the locality.
Manikganj superintendent of police Mahfuzur Rahman said that they detained 20 Rohingyas and sent them to Cox’s Bazar by Friday.
He said that of the 20, a family of three — parents and a child — came to Manikganj three months ago after the October 9, 2016 influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh while the rests came recently.
Another police official said that Rohingyas fled from Cox’s Bazar to survive with better livelihood as they had hardly any food to eat and shelter to stay.
Eleven Rohingyas were held in Sunamganj on September 14 and sent back to a Cox’s Bazar refugee camp on Friday.
The Rohingyas were carrying citizenship certificates issued from Uttar Bardal union parishad at Tahirpur upazila in the district and were reportedly trying to build a house in the area.
A police superintendent near Dhaka said that they instructed all local government representatives to monitor any newcomer in the area.
Chittagong range deputy inspector general of police SM Moniruzzaman said that they set up 27 checkpoints in 11 districts.
Cox’s Bazar additional district magistrate Khaled Mahmud said that Rapid Action Battalion was tasked to search transports coming from Ukhiya and Tekhnaf.
Another police official in Cox’s Bazar said that they found many Rohingyas sheltering around Marine Drive and they detained and brought them to the camp. The Border Guard Bangladesh also tightened their vigilance so that Rohingyas could not travel elsewhere.
The government on September 10 started the process of mandatory registration of Rohingyas and gathering them at an under-construction camp at Balukhali near Kutupalang of Ukhia.
After the meeting on September 10, the home minister said that the registration was made ‘mandatory’ so that Rohingyas could not mix up with Bangladeshis.
Source: New Age
