Covert network suspected in Rohingya disappearances; 10 minor girls missing since 2021

Guwahati, Jan. 6: At least 13 Rohingya, including 10 minor girls, have vanished under mysterious circumstances across Assam since 2021, fuelling whispers that a covert network could be aiding their flight, making their escape seemingly effortless.

The latest incident, which unfolded at the Matia transit camp on January 2, is the most alarming, as it concerns the biggest such facility in India built at a cost more than Rs 60 crore in Goalpara district.

While the breach in the security mechanism in Matia transit camp has now been thrust into the limelight, a primary investigation has found that those who escaped had employed an 'innovative' method by fashioning a makeshift ladder to scale the towering walls of the camp.

This is not the first time such an escape by Rohingya has occurred under the very nose of the authorities and the consistency of these escapes, however, has raised some fundamental yet serious questions: Are these minors fleeing from one hellhole to another, or have they fallen into the trap of traffickers or is there something more than what meets the eye?

In 2021, The Assam Tribune had first reported the disappearance of five young Rohingya girls from the government-run State Home for Women at Jalukbari in Guwahati.

Police, however, had no answers, as the trail for the missing girls had gone cold and instead suggested they crossed into Bangladesh, although the details of their escape remain unclear.

Two year later, another five Rohingya girls managed to slip through the cracks of an observation home at Silchar. The Matia transit camp incident marks the third such escape in the State.

As the authorities scramble for answers in the latest incident where three Rohingya inmates fled the transit camp, the Assam Police has sought a report from the local authorities, and an investigation is under way.

Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Akhilesh Singh, when contacted, said that the escapees employed an innovative method that the authorities did not anticipate.

"We are working to understand how it happened. I have sought a report from the local authorities, and it would be premature to share anything more at this point, as investigators are trying to figure out the circumstances under which the incident took place," said Singh, who visited the camp and assessed the situation immediately after the incident.

Singh, however, acknowledged that there is room for improvement in the security of the camp, which needs to be plugged. The transit camp, which became operational in 2023, at present is housing around 270 inmates.

- By Sanjoy Ray