India Deports Seven Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar After Court's Nod

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India deported seven Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar on Thursday after the country's apex court refused to intervene in the process. The Supreme Court of India on Thursday morning said that seven Rohingyas were found by the competent court to be illegal immigrants and that Myanmar had accepted them as citizens.

​The seven Rohingya Muslims were handed over to Myanmar's authorities at the Moreh border point located in the northeastern state of Manipur as part of the deportation exercise undertaken after the Union Home Ministry ordered state authorities to identify and deport the illegal immigrants.  

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The deported persons are between 26-32 years of age and have been identified as Md Jamal, Mohbul Khan, Jamal Hussain, Md Yonus, Sabir Ahmed, Rahim Uddin and Md Salam. 

A group of people had tried to stop the deportation on Wednesday as they went before the Supreme Court of India against the government's plan. But the lawyer representing the Indian government informed the court that Myanmar had issued certificates of identity to the seven Rohingyas along with a one month visa to facilitate their deportation. Sources told Sputnik that one person was deported back to Myanmar few days ago.

"Eight people were arrested in 2012 for illegal entry into the Indian border. They have completed their sentence after the court convicted them under Foreigners Act," senior police officer Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta told Sputnik.

On Sunday, Rajnath Singh, India's Minister of Home Affairs reiterated that all states had been asked to initiate steps to identify Rohingyas, collate their biometric data so that they could be deported to their homeland.

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"Rohingyas have to be identified and their biometric have to be done. The list has to be sent to the Center. The Center will take up the issue with the Myanmar government through the diplomatic channel," Rajnath Singh said on Sunday after a meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council in Kolkata.

An estimated 40,000 Rohingya have taken refuge in states like Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Telangana of the Indian federation. Less than 15,000 are registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.