The government seems to be clueless about Rohingya refugees in Jaipur, reveal RTI replies.
A Jaipur resident, Surya Pratap Singh Rajawat, through a Right to Information (RTI) application, had asked the police department about the number of Rohingya refugees living in Jaipur city and their criminal records.
The Jaipur Police (North), in its reply dated December 12, 2017, stated that there was no Rohingya refugee in their area, while Jaipur Police (West) in its reply on December 21, 2017, refused to give any information citing orders of the state home department.
The details were sought from the commissioner of police (CP), Jaipur, expecting the office would provide the details of Jaipur North, South, East and West police. However, the CP office forwarded the query to the office of deputy commissioner of police (west) and Rajawat had filed a separate RTI with the office of DCP (north). He did not seek the details from East and South police separately.
Meanwhile, in an RTI application dated September 21, 2017, to the Minister of Home Affairs/Foreigners Division, Government of India, Rajawat had sought the number of Rohingya refugees and immigrants in India; number of Rohingya refugees and immigrants in India – statewise; number of Rohingya refugees and immigrants in India – district-wise and the Indian policy on the refugees.
The ministry on November 21, 2017, said that “the entry of illegal migrants is clandestine and surreptitious and therefore no figures are available on the number of Rohingya refugees. However, as per an estimate, the figure could be around 40,000. Statewise and district-wise figures are not available. There is no national law on refugees in the country. Foreign nationals claiming to be refugees are dealt as per the internal guidelines issued by MHA for grant of LTV.”
{{/usCountry}}The ministry on November 21, 2017, said that “the entry of illegal migrants is clandestine and surreptitious and therefore no figures are available on the number of Rohingya refugees. However, as per an estimate, the figure could be around 40,000. Statewise and district-wise figures are not available. There is no national law on refugees in the country. Foreign nationals claiming to be refugees are dealt as per the internal guidelines issued by MHA for grant of LTV.”
{{/usCountry}}Rajawat also sought information from the chief election officer and information technology and communication department about the voter ID and Aadhaar cards issued to Rohingya refugees in Jaipur. On November 24, 2017, he sought from the chief election officer of Rajasthan the number of voter IDs issued to Rohingya refugees residing in Jaipur city. In a reply dated December 4, 2017, the chief election officer stated that the voter lists are not made based on religion/caste/class or refugees, therefore, it is not possible to provide information in this regard.
Similarly, on the number of Aadhaar cards issued to Rohingya refugees in Jaipur city, the special officer (UID) of IT and communication department in its reply dated January 3, 2018, stated that any person who has been residing in India for 182 days or more prior to enrolment with the Unique Identification Authority can get Aadhaar card and the department does not maintain such information.