Twelve suspected Rohingyas arrested in Mizoram for entering without valid travel documents: Reports

A total of 12 suspected Rohingya from Bangladesh were arrested in Mizoram for entering the state without valid travel documents, a police officer said on Monday.

Eight women and four boys from Bangladesh were taken from a house to Bawngkawn police station on Sunday, Deputy Inspector of Police (Northern Range) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte said. It is suspected that they were victims of human trafficking.

Mr Khiangte said the arrested people had some mobile phones without sim cards in their possession. Investigation is on to find out their identities.

The 12 people were found in the residence of a woman who claimed that her cousin, who lives at Tahan in Myanmar had asked her for a favour for keeping the "guests" before being taken to the neighbouring country.

In late April, eight Rohingya women were detained at India-Myanmar border town of Vairengte for trying to enter Mizoram illegally and were pushed back.

They had claimed that they were from Kutupalong refugee camp at Sabulara in Bangladesh and were abducted by a group of men on April 19 and brought them to Mizoram by truck.

Read: India, Bangladesh Call For Expediting Safe And Sustainable Repartition Of Rohingya Refugees

Earlier, Foreign Ministers of India and Bangladesh held talks to further intensify ties between the two countries as they called for expediting safe and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya refugees, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.

During the fifth meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission (JCC), External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj assured her Bangladeshi counterpart A K Abdul Momen India's continued support for safe, speedy and sustainable return of the displaced persons to Myanmar.

The two sides also inked three pacts, including in the areas of health services and training of civil servants.

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled from Myanmar's Rakhine state to neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2017 after a military crackdown, triggering a massive refugee crisis.