People smuggling

Traffickers could sneak Rohingya Muslims into India via sea, intelligence agencies say

With the security tightened along India-Myanmar border, intelligence agencies have warned that the Rohingyas may use sea routes to sneak into the country with the help of professional traffickers.

Rohingya Muslims have been fleeing Myanmar since 2012 following persecution by state agencies and their feud with local Buddhist population. India too has been affected with the largescale migration, with about 40,000 Rohingyas living at camps and shanties in Assam, West Bengal, Jammu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

"The Rohingiyas are desperate to sneak into Indian areas such as Bengal. And organised traffickers are likely to use sea routes from Myanmar and Bangladesh to push them into India," senior intelligence officials told Mail Today. "All security agencies concerned have to remain guarded against any such attempt."