Photo : Collected
A group of misguided Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar are involved in various crimes, including murder, abduction, drug trade, human trafficking, and robbery, and they patronise about a dozen armed groups in the camps, a recent intelligence report said.
Their activities have made the 33 camps at Ukhiya and Teknaf in Cox's Bazar hotbeds of crime, with locals alleging that these Rohingyas have embarked on a secret mission, according to the report.
It also said special operations should be conducted soon to arrest the Rohingyas engaged in criminal activities.
Rafiqul Islam, additional superintendent of police in Cox's Bazar, said intelligence surveillance around the camps has been ramped up while uniformed and plainclothes police conduct patrols regularly.
“We are working to arrest the identified criminals. We work round the clock to prevent murder and other crimes in the camps. But still, some incidents happen. We are monitoring everything,” he added.
The report said crimes at the camps are increasing day by day and 1,300 cases have so far been filed against Rohingyas in connection with 12 types of crimes. 3,870 Rohingyas have been accused in the cases. The crimes include murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, arms trade, drug and human trafficking, attacks on police, etc.
So far, 110 murder cases have been lodged. Besides, there have been 40 human trafficking cases, 150 arms cases, 65 rape cases, and 20 robbery cases. 34 cases have been filed for kidnapping and collecting ransom. 89 cases have been lodged in other crimes. 250 people have been killed in clashes at the camps and 360 have been injured.
The killing of Rohingya leaders Mohibullah, Hamid Hossain, Md Ibrahim, and Abdu Sukkur as well as the murder of six people, including sleeping teachers and students, have been highlighted among the murders mentioned in the report.
Local sources said since the killing of Mohibullah, the identified members of the so-called Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) have faced the wrath of ordinary Rohingyas. They escaped from the camps and are sheltered by some local terrorist groups in the hilly area of Nayapara Muchni camp in Teknaf’s Hnila.
A group of Rohingyas recently captured an ARSA member named Fayezullah from Balukhali camp and beat him up before handing him over to the police. Noticing the unity among the Rohingyas seeking repatriation, those involved in crimes planned large-scale crimes at the camps. As part of that, six Rohingyas were killed in a gruesome attack on a madrasa at a camp in Ukhiya in 2021.
The report further said at least 15-20 armed terrorist groups have an active presence at the camps. Their focus is on establishing dominance and controlling the criminal world there. Apart from those, there are several other armed terrorist groups at the camps, each comprising 30 to 100 members.
When the sun sets, crimes increase at the camps as Rohingyas get involved in killings over trivial matters. The camps are under strict vigilance by law enforcement agencies during the day, but security measures become lax at night, causing yaba trade and gold smuggling to increase. The armed terrorist groups have been formed to control these businesses. Daily yaba trade at the camps exceeds Tk 100 crore per day as at least 25-30 lakh pills change hands.
Among the widely known terrorist groups at the camps are Master Munna Group, Maulvi Yusuf Group, Rocky Bahini, Sukkur Bahini, Abdul Hakim Bahini, Saddam Group, Zakir Bahini, Nabi Hussain Bahini, Putia Group, Salman Shah Group, Giyas Bahini, and Shah Azam Group.
As many as 7.5 lakh Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh after the Myanmar army's operation in Rakhine on August 25, 2017. The total number of Rohingyas in the country is more than 13 lakh. Of them, 11.5 lakh live at the 33 camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf while the rest are scattered in different parts of the country.
Messenger/Fameema
