Rohingya detainees at Holding Center in Jammu and Kashmir attack police with stones

On Tuesday, July 19, some Rohingyas currently lodged at the Holding Center in Hiranagar town of Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir attacked the police by pelting stones. Several people including the police officials suffered injuries in the violence that ensued. These illegal Rohingya infiltrators are lodged at the Holding Center for the last two years.

Senior police officials stated that clashes erupted after the police moved in to rescue the centre’s in-charge and two other staff members who were being held captive by the Rohingyas and that around six officers were hurt in stone pelting by the Rohingya detainees. Six Rohingyas were also reported to be injured in the violence.

The situation was brought under control by 11 a.m. when police and Central Reserve Police Force reinforcements dispatched to the centre used a lathi charge and fired teargas shells to disperse the irate crowd. According to officials, the officials of the Holding Center were rescued from Rohingya detainees who had even taken over their office room.

Reportedly, when the center workers who were opening the barracks in the morning were held captive by Rohingyas. As word spread, a police party from Hiranagar police station came to the scene. However, the Rohingya detainees pelted stones at them. According to an AajTak report, the detainees launched an attack on the police after the health of a Rohingya woman detained there deteriorated.

After taking stock of the situation, Kathua SSP Shiv Deep Singh Jamwal said that the situation is now under control.

Notably, the illegal Rohingya infiltrators lodged at the Holding Center have been protesting for the last one month for their immediate release. There are currently 271 Rohingya infiltrators, including 74 women and 70 children, of whom were reportedly born inside the centre are lodged.

The Hiranagar Holding Center was a sub-jail before the J&K government designated it as a ‘holding centre’ on March 5, 2021, for the purpose of detaining illegal immigrants from Myanmar as described in Section 2(b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. A number of the prisoners have been there since March 6, 2021, when both the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration started sending the illegally residing Rohingya to the Hiranagar Holding Centre so as for them to be deported to Myanmar.

Their deportation, however, was halted due to an April 2021 Supreme Court judgement stating that people held in Jammu should not be deported without following the appropriate legal procedure.

Source: OpIndia