The Indian government told the country’s top court on Monday that the Muslim Rohingya who have fled Myanmar are a serious security threat as it sought to justify moves to deport up to 40,000 of the refugees. Mukesh Mittal, a senior home ministry official, said the Supreme Court must let the government to take a decision in Indian interests because of Rohingya links to extremist groups. It also said the government had intelligence indicating links between Rohingya refugees and Islamic State and other extremist groups. The statement came in response to a petition filed at the Supreme Court challenging a government decision to deport the Rohingya, many of whom have been in India for the past decade. The United Nations says there are 16,000 registered Rohingya in India, but many more are undocumented.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 18, 2017 11:15 UTC