JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday said that the biometric details of Rohingya refugees living in the state will be collected within two months.
“Biometric details of Rohingyas will be collected within two months,” the J&K Governor said while addressing the media during the bi-annual ‘Darbar Move’.
The remarks from Malik came days after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said that all states have been asked to identify Rohingya refugees and collect their biometric data.
The Union Home Ministry will later send a compiled report on Rohingyas to Myanmar.
Singh, while describing the Rohingyas as illegal immigrants, had urged the political parties to not politicise the Centre’s efforts to identify them.
Rajnath’s directions came four months after he wrote a letter to the Jammu and Kashmir government, saying, “Such illegal migrations pose serious challenges and have security implications since some of the migrants have been found to have indulged in illegal activities and are vulnerable to radicalisation.”
Shifting his focus to the recent killing of the BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet in Kishtwar, Malik said, ”the terrorists who killed the two brothers have been identified.”
“Terrorists were frustrated as the local body polls were conducted smoothly; hence, they carried out this murder. The moral of the security forces is high, and no terrorists can disturb the panchayat elections,” the J&K Governor said.
Panchayat polls in the state are scheduled to begin on November 17. The voting will take place between 7 AM and 2 PM and the entire poll process will be completed by December 17.
