Seven Rohingya immigrants, who have been staying in Assam illegally, was deported by India to their home country Myanmar in October 2018

India is now taking steps to identify Rohingyas by collecting their biometric data and will detain them so that they may be deported to Myanmar in batches

New Delhi — India has decided to deport five Rohingyas to Myanmar, the second batch of Rohingyas living in detention camps in Assam, a state in India's northeast. They will be handed over to Myanmar authorities at Moreh, in the Tengnoupal district of Manipur later this week.

"They are on their way," Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Assam's additional director general of police (border), confirming the repatriation of the five Rohingyas who are considered illegal immigrants and national security threat by the government.

More than 120,000 Rohingya were forced into camps five years ago, and their suffering may have only worsened since Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi rose to power in Myanmar last year.

Ministry of Home Affairs on 1 January informed the nation's parliament that at least 478 Rohingyas have been apprehended so far by India's Border Security Force since 2015.

Agencies