Aizawl: Mizoram Home Minister K. Sapdanga stated on Friday that refugees taking shelter in the state were linked to over 50% of its recent criminal cases.
The home minister made the statement during a meeting in Aizawl to review the initiative of the state police.
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Quoting secret intelligence reports, Sapdanga, who chaired the meeting, said that crime rate is on the rise in the state day after day.
“Criminal rate of all kinds is increasing day by day. Displaced people from across the international border connected more than half of the criminal cases,” the home minister said.
According to officials, more than 30,000 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh and Internally Displaced People (IDP) from Manipur are currently taking shelter in Mizoram.
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The Myanmar people who took refuge in Mizoram were mostly from the Chin community, who share ethnic ties with the Mizos. The Kuki-Hmar-Zomi people from Manipur and Bawm tribe from Bangladesh currently taking shelter in Mizoram also share close ethnic ties with the native Mizos.
Earlier on Thursday, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma had said that his government is contemplating confiscating Myanmar government-issued identity cards of refugees, who repeatedly cross the international border to and from the neighbouring country and who often violate the country’s (India) laws.
During a meeting with Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary Surinder Bhagat in Aizawl, Lalduhoma told him that there are many refugees, who are obedient and follow the laws, while some of them are “repeatedly crossing the border to go to Myanmar and come back to Mizoram taking advantage of the crisis in the neighbouring country.”
The chief minister said that these refugees often violate the country’s laws, and the state government would take stringent action against them.
Meanwhile, Sapdanga informed the meeting that he will advise policemen unable to execute their duty to seek voluntary retirement. He added that those ineligible for voluntary retirement should opt for a special retirement scheme, all in an effort to reform the police department.
He also suggested a zero-based posting system for gazetted police officers to ensure better policing.
Sapdanga also suggested that the state should strengthen village vigilante (village defence party) groups across the state.