POLICE RAIDS FOR BIOMETRICS EXACERBATE PLIGHT OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES IN DELHI

Mon 10 March 2025:

On February 24, a police crackdown swept across the Shaheen Bagh Rohingya settlement in New Delhi, sending waves of panic through the community. It emerged that law enforcement officials were rounding up Rohingya refugees without explanation, forcibly taking them to police stations for biometric verification. What initially appeared to be a bureaucratic exercise soon revealed itself as an operation designed to intimidate and dehumanise an already extremely vulnerable population.

Rohingya refugees recounted how they were subjected to racial slurs, threats of deportation, and coercion to comply with a verification process that had no legal explanation.

This pattern of arbitrary enforcement extended beyond the Shaheen Bagh settlement in Delhi. Distress calls from multiple settlements across Delhi highlighted the indiscriminate nature of the crackdown. The authorities forced many refugees into compliance, made them sign documents in languages they didn’t understand, and took them to undisclosed locations without legal representation. The actions of the authorities violate multiple constitutional rights.

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

Under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, every individual—irrespective of nationality—is guaranteed the right to life and personal liberty, including protection against arbitrary detention and coercion. Article 14 further ensures equality before the law, making the discriminatory targeting of Rohingya refugees legally indefensible. The Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, explicitly states that no individual can be detained or summoned without written notice—yet this provision was blatantly disregarded. Additionally, the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Puttaswamy (2017) reinforced the right to privacy by prohibiting the unauthorised collection of biometric data without proper legal safeguards. The police’s actions in forcibly collecting biometric data from Rohingya refugees without prior notification violate both national and international human rights laws.

The verification drive did not conclude with a single round of biometric registration. Multiple reports from across Delhi indicate that Rohingya families continue to face relentless police harassment. Police stations repeatedly summon refugees under vague pretexts, detaining them without any legal justification. Landlords, fearing legal repercussions, have begun evicting Rohingya tenants, forcing many into homelessness in Kanchan Kunj, Delhi. These punitive actions serve no other purpose than to destabilise an already persecuted community, exposing them to further economic and social precarity.

As one Rohingya refugee described, “We fled Myanmar to escape persecution, to avoid being treated as criminals simply for existing. Yet here, in what we hoped would be a refuge, we find ourselves once again under suspicion, under scrutiny—living in a shadow of uncertainty.”

Further, advocate Ujjaini, a human rights lawyer based in Delhi, has strongly criticised the state’s handling of the issue. She said, “The manner in which these processes are being conducted is entirely inconsistent with the rule of law. Instead, they reflect humiliation and dehumanisation. The police urgently require training and sensitisation to interact with migrant communities, as they fail to distinguish between an ‘illegal migrant’ under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and a refugee as defined by the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Union in 2019.”

A lawyer, speaking anonymously, noted, “The Rohingyas in India are already in an extremely precarious situation. Instead of offering legal pathways to protection, authorities are subjecting them to unpredictable and coercive measures that intensify their vulnerability.” The failure to adhere to legal protocols has led to dire consequences.

Ujjaini highlighted, “It is deeply concerning that, despite the annual biometric data collection, the refugee assessment of the Rohingyas has not been conducted in accordance with the SOP.”

According to the SOP, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) must recommend a claim, based on a well-founded fear of persecution due to race, religion, sex, nationality, ethnic identity, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, to the Ministry of Home Affairs for the grant of a Long-Term Visa (LTV) within thirty days. A key criterion in this assessment is the general conditions prevailing in the home country of the individual’s community, which, in the case of the Rohingyas, clearly establishes their status as refugees.

A social worker assisting displaced Rohingya families described the situation, “We are seeing a growing number of cases where young girls and women are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. Without legal protection, they are straightforward targets for exploitation, and the government’s failure to provide safeguards only exacerbates the problem.”

This systemic persecution not only violates domestic legal standards but also India’s international obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and customary international refugee law.

Instead of adhering to established legal protocols, authorities have resorted to arbitrary actions that expose refugees to further abuse. The implications of this are especially dire for Rohingya women and children, who are already highly vulnerable to human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The situation is particularly dire in the Rohingya settlement at Madanpur Khadar, where residents live in deplorable conditions without basic amenities. Despite the explicit directive from the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India on May 11, 2018, in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 859 of 2013 (Jaffar Ullah and Anr. vs. Union of India and Ors.) mandating the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to ensure Rohingya refugees receive basic amenities on par with Indian citizens, the SDM has demonstrably failed to address the issues raised by the Rohingya refugee community. This inaction constitutes a significant dereliction of duty and undermines the Supreme Court’s order.

In June 2021, a devastating fire tore through the Rohingya Madanpur Khadar settlement, leaving 53 Rohingya families homeless. Because of the fire, the families were forced to relocate to Zakat Foundation land in Madanpur, Khadar, as a temporary measure. Yet, no substantial rehabilitation measures were undertaken, forcing residents into makeshift shelters made of tarpaulin and cardboard, highly susceptible to fire hazards. There is no access to clean drinking water, leading to a proliferation of waterborne diseases.

With no sanitation facilities, open defecation is rampant, creating serious health risks, particularly for women and children. The lack of electricity further exacerbates security concerns, making the settlement unsafe for its most vulnerable residents. Furthermore, some of the families were forced to make their shanties on the road adjacent to Zakat Foundation land. The limited space on the roads has exacerbated tensions between the residents and the Rohingya refugees. This has resulted in numerous complaints being lodged with the local police concerning the refugees. However, through the dedicated efforts of civil society organisations and activists, several families have been successfully relocated to rented accommodations in the nearby area of Kanchan Kunj.

Compounding these hardships, the police have now escalated their intimidation tactics. 17 families who had managed to secure rented accommodations in Kanchan Kunj are being arbitrarily pressured by police officials to vacate their homes and return to the hazardous conditions of the settlement. Such coercive measures defy all humanitarian principles and directly contravene the Supreme Court’s binding directive.

What began as a biometric verification exercise has now devolved into a full-fledged campaign of intimidation, harassment, and coercion by the police. The systematic targeting of Rohingya refugees through arbitrary detentions, forced evictions, and economic marginalization signals an institutionalized effort to erode their basic rights. The absence of accountability has emboldened law enforcement officials to act with impunity, leaving the community in a perpetual state of fear and vulnerability.

If India is to uphold its constitutional and international obligations, immediate steps must be taken to cease the harassment of Rohingya refugees, implement a transparent legal framework for verification procedures, and hold those responsible for rights violations to account.

Fazal Abdali is a human rights lawyer based in New Delhi.

This article is republished from Maktoob Media. Read the original article.