Rohingya protest at ‘holding centre’ in J&K seeking release

A total of 271 Rohingya, including 74 women and 70 children, are detained at the sub-jail that was notified as a ‘holding centre’ on March 5, 2021, for lodging illegal immigrants as defined under Section 2(b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Jammu and Kashmir, Rohingya, Rohingya refugees, Rohingya migrants, Citizenship Act, Indian Express, India news, current affairs

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court had in April 2022 granted six weeks time to the government to identify immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh who were staying in the Union Territory.

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Around 200 Rohingya people from Myanmar lodged at the Hiranagar sub-jail in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district have been holding a protest for about two weeks, demanding immediate release.

A total of 271 Rohingya, including 74 women and 70 children, are detained at the sub-jail that was notified as a ‘holding centre’ on March 5, 2021, for lodging illegal immigrants as defined under Section 2(b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The trouble, sources said, started on May 12 when they held a protest at the holding centre and refused to take food until their release. However, the matter got resolved when senior police and Prison Department officials talked to the protesters and assured them that the matter has been taken up with the Centre and whenever the orders are received, they will be released or deported to their native country.

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Since then, these foreign nationals have been regularly holding protest inside the holding centre, besides refusing to take meals off and on, sources said.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court had in April 2022 granted six weeks time to the government to identify immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh who were staying in the Union Territory.

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