Law enforcement authorities apprehended 348 Rohingya people from the Dohazari region of Chandanaish upazila in Chattogram on an early morning operation. A combined team consisting of Police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and the Army carried out a thorough search in the “Burma Colony” of Dohazari municipality from 5:00 am to 9:00 am, as per police reports.
Officer-in-Charge Md Elias Khan of Chandanaish Police Station informed The Daily Star that the operation was part of increased security measures to ensure law and order in areas prone to criminal activities ahead of the upcoming February 12 elections.
During the operation, the joint forces scoured more than a hundred residences within the colony. The detainees include 176 men, 86 women, and 86 children and teenagers, according to police sources.
A police official mentioned, “The detained individuals were taken to the police station, where their citizenship status and camp details were verified until Thursday afternoon.”
OC Elias Khan further stated that all 348 individuals have been identified as Rohingya refugees who had unlawfully departed from their assigned camps in Cox’s Bazar. “We are currently in the process of transferring them to representatives of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner.”
