UN probes claims of Rohingya refugees forced off Indian ship into sea even as SC calls plea ‘beautifully crafted story'
Refugees claim that they were detained in New Delhi before being transported by air and allegedly cast into the sea with life jackets.
The United Nations has launched an inquiry into claims that Rohingya refugees were forced off an Indian naval ship into the Andaman Sea near the Myanmar shores.
Hindustan Times earlier reported that the case was brought before the Supreme Court on Friday, where the petitioners claimed that 43 Rohingya had been deported after being held under the pretext of biometric data collection. The top court, however, expressed skepticism about the claims and refused to pass interim orders.
According to a UN agency, Indian authorities allegedly removed dozens of Rohingya refugees from a naval vessel and left them in the sea after giving them life jackets.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement on Thursday, noting that around 40 refugees — including women, children, and the elderly — were detained in New Delhi and later put into the sea near Myanmar. The UN called it an “unconscionable, unacceptable” act.
The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, found the petition lacked concrete evidence and called it “vague, evasive and sweeping.”
According to news agency Associated Press, several Rohingya refugees still in India claimed that their family members were among those detained by Indian authorities on May 6. One refugee said, “My parents were taken from me and thrown into the waters…It would be enough if I am reunited with my parents. I just want my parents, nothing else.”
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the refugees, offered to present reports and an audio recording from "Myanmar shores" as evidence. However, the court stressed that while such material could be submitted, “foreign reports cannot override Indian sovereignty.”
“Every time, you have a new story. Now (where) is this beautifully crafted story coming from?... Who was clicking the videos and photos? How did he come back? What is the material on record?” asked Justice Kant.
“When the country is passing through a difficult time, you come out with fanciful ideas,” Justice Surya Kant said.
While India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a national refugee law, it respects UNHCR’s mandate for other nationals, mainly from Afghanistan and Myanmar.
It currently hosts around 40,000 Rohingya refugees, including 22,500 registered with the UNHCR, according to Refugees International’s data cited by AP.
