The UN has announced that it is investigating allegations that the Indian Navy has thrown some Rohingya refugees overboard off the coast of Myanmar.
The UN has expressed concern in a statement over reports of Rohingya refugees being forcibly disembarked from an Indian Navy ship in the Andaman Sea last week. The statement also said that an expert has been appointed to investigate such “inappropriate and unacceptable” incidents.
Earlier, there were media reports that Delhi police had detained Rohingya refugees from their homes.
The Indian government or the Indian Navy have not yet commented on those reports.
However, the Supreme Court of India held a hearing on Friday on the alleged extradition of Rohingya refugees. The Supreme Court expressed doubts in the case and refused to issue any interim order.
The UN human rights agency said that the Indian administration has been accused of detaining dozens of Rohingya refugees living in Delhi despite having refugee identity cards. About 40 of them were blindfolded and flown to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where they were taken aboard an Indian Navy ship.
“After the ship crossed the Andaman Sea, the refugees were given life jackets and forced to swim to an island inside Myanmar’s borders. The refugees likely swam to the island, but their current condition and whereabouts are still unknown,” the UN human rights agency said in a statement.
The UN also received reports that about 100 Rohingya refugees were removed from a detention center in Assam state and taken to a location near the Bangladesh border.
It also said in the statement, “Any attempts to forcibly return Rohingya refugees who face serious human rights violations and threats of torture and violence in Myanmar must stop.”