New Delhi: The BBC has reported shocking allegations that 40 Rohingya refugees were forcibly deported from India and abandoned in the Andaman Sea before being pushed into conflict-ridden Myanmar. The group, including women and children, were registered with the UNHCR and had been living in Delhi.
According to testimonies collected by the BBC, the refugees were first summoned to local police stations in early May under the pretext of biometric verification. They were then detained, flown to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and placed on a naval vessel. Several refugees described being bound, blindfolded, and beaten during the journey.
They said they spent more than 14 hours on the ship before being moved onto smaller boats and told to jump into the sea with life jackets. Local fishermen later found them on Myanmar’s coast, where they remain under the protection of a resistance group. Survivors told the BBC they faced humiliation, physical violence, and communal taunts during their deportation.
The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, told the BBC there was “significant evidence” of the deportations and confirmed he had raised the issue with India’s mission in Geneva. The BBC reported that India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Navy did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
India hosts an estimated 40,000 Rohingya, but does not recognize them as refugees. Families of those deported have petitioned the Supreme Court, which is set to hear the case in September. Meanwhile, fear has spread among Rohingya in India, with many going into hiding.
