Rohingya refugees are flooding the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, according to the intelligence unit of the Railway Protection Force. The unprecedented increase in the number of Rohiyngya refugees travelling in Kerala bound trains from Chennai Central Railway Station has been noticed by the RPF authorities who issued a confidential and high security alert to all RPF staff members asking them to hand over such refugees to the Government Railway Police.
A secret note issued by the Office of the Principal Chief Security Commissioner, Railway Protection Force, Chennai on September 26 has stated that a ‘huge number of Rohingyas are travelling to Kerala by train’.
“Input indicates that huge number of Rohingyas (an ethnic group of Myanmar’s Rakhine province) are travelling from every corner of North Eastern States and ultimately heading towards Kerala, especially in the following South bound trains”, said the secret note issued by P Sethumadhavan, assistant security commissioner, RPF. The note has furnished the details of 14 trains which pass through Chennai Central in which the Rohingyas travel.
“All Rohingyas are travelling in groups along with their families.If they are found in trains they may be handed over to the Police having jurisdiction for further action,” said the note.
A senior official of Southern Railway said since the note has been marked “secret”, he is unaware of any such communication. “But ther has been an unprecedented increase in the number of people from north east States travelling towards South via Chennai. We have been forced to change the timing of some of the trains because of the overcrowding in the reserved compartments,” said the official who did not want his name to be quoted.
Intelligence agencies too confirmed the southward journey of Rohingya refugees through Chennai. “But we have not seen any arrests till date either by the RPF or the State Police,” said an official in Chennai. He pointed out that illegal Bangladeshi migrants have made Kerala their home.
Whie the exact details of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Tamil Nadu is not known, sources in Kerala Police confirmed their presence in that State. “It is difficult to make out whether they are from Bangladesh or Bengal or Assam as they all look alike and the language is also similar,” said an official in Kerala Police.
Perumbavoor , a town in Kerala’s Ernakulam district has more than 1.8 lakh Bangaldeshi immigrants, according to a businessman in the town. “60 per cent of the laboueres in saw mills and plywood factories and 40 per cent of workers in hotels, eateries, hair dressing saloons and general provision shops are Bangladeshi immigrants. The economy of the town is dependent on them,” saidthe businessman from Viruidhunagar in Tamil Nadu who too has made Perumabavoor his home.