File photo of the Rohingya camp in Kalindi Kunj in New Delhi. Rohingya refugee reports emerged who were forced to an Indian naval ship at the Andaman Sea. | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
The Popular Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has strongly condemned the alleged deportation of 40 Rohingya refugees of India, which describes the action reported “illegal”, “inhuman” and equivalent to a “duplicate deportation”.
In a detailed statement issued this week, PUCL claimed that refugees were forced retired from the national capital and transported to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, before being abandoned in international waters near the Tanintharyi region mounted in conflict.
According to PUCCL, deportation was carried out surreptitiously by arresting refugees, many of whom were registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), under the pretext of collecting biometric data. Arrested by the Delhi Police on May 6, individuals were transferred to several police stations before being transferred to the Inelok detention center. Althhehe initial authorities said the transfer was for biometric processing, refugees were subsequently transferred to Port Blair.
“Surprisingly, 43 Dyareans were not released after the biometric collection. Instead, they went with bandaged, handcuffed and placed on board the naval ships. Upon reaching the Maritime border Myanmar, they in international waters,” they poured. Among those deported were lower, elderly individuals and people with serious health conditions, including cancer.
Kavita Srivastava, president of PUCL, criticized the government approach led by Narendra Modi to the refugee policy, compared it with the hard line immigration position of the former Trump administration in the United States. “The BJP seems to have adopted a paradigm or contempt for the rule of law and judicial supervision. This call” recoil “policy, as defended by Assam’s Prime Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, is a flagrant violation of the Constitutional, Srivastava.
An audio recording of one of the survivors, shared with PUCL, details the abuse aboard naval ships, including physical abuse, interrogation and sexual harassment. “They accused us of participating in Pahalgam’s terrorist attack. When we denied it, we should say that we were pretending. The women were abused. We were possibly abandoned in the sea,” says the survivor.
The Secretary General of PUCCL, Dr. V. Suresh, said that the Government of the National Unit of Myanmar has confirmed the presence of 40 individuals Rohingya rescued now under their protection. However, the whereabouts of three is still unknown, and the additional reports suggest that at least 14 more refugees were illegally arrested and undergoing violence with custody.
“This is a serious violation of India’s obligations under international law, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide Crime, ratified by India in 1959,” Dr. Ir. Suresh said. “The Rohingya are among the most persecuted minorities in the world. The issue of return to the regions full of conflicts and accusations of genocide is morally indefensible.”
PUCL also pointed out a hearing from the Supreme Court of May 8, which is the Judiciary that refused to intervene in a declaration against the reported deportation. According to the reports, the Government of the Union, in its response, affirmed that article 19 (1) of the Constitution, which is the right to the real in any part of India, applies only to citizens. Puccl responded this position, stating that article 21, the right to life and personal freedom, extends to “all people” and does not depend on citizenship.
Although India is not a firm for the UN Refugee Convention of 1951, PUCL said that deportation procedures are bound by the Law of Foreigners and related legal frameworks. The organization argued that the treatment of refugees constitutes torture and violates India’s commitments under the United Nations Convention against torture.
“The Indian government has effectively undermined due process and legal protections in a case that involves one of the most vulnerable refugee groups in the world,” concluded Pucl’s statement. “This marks a disturbing moment in the history of human rights of India.”
According to international refugees, around 22,500 Rohingya refugees are currently registered in the India UNHCR. Many live in precarious conditions, facing systemic violations of their rights.
Published – May 16, 2025 4:12 PM IST
