Cops wary as Rohingyas rent houses in port city
Police officials in Chattogram have expressed their concern as they said Rohingyas have been renting houses in different areas of port city as well as upazilas hiding their identities and getting involved in various criminal activities.
Apart from that, a section of unscrupulous landlords have been renting out their houses to Rohingya refugees for money despite an embargo of law enforcement agencies, putting internal security at risk, they said.
Talking to The Daily Star, several officials of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) said they have information that the Myanmar nationals have been renting houses in different areas after fleeing from their camps in Cox's Bazar.
They are also using fake Bangladeshi NID cards to dodge law enforcers, the officials said.
Following reports of crimes in the city and district, this issue came to light. Law enforcers have asked the homeowners not to rent out their houses to Rohingya people.
"We came to know about it after arresting four Rohingyas over several criminal activities last year," Shah Md Abdur Rauf, additional deputy commissioner (south) of CMP's Detective Branch, told The Daily Star recently.
According to law enforcement agencies, Rab-7 in a drive on November 9 arrested a Rohingya couple from a flat in port city's Chandgaon area with around Tk 1.17 crore and 5,000 yaba pills.
Rab officials said they had been living in the city using fake NID cards for several years and were involved in yaba business.
On January 30, police recovered the body of a missing Jatiya Party leader from his farmhouse in Lohagara upazila.
During investigation, police found out that two Rohingya youths, who used to work for the JP leader, murdered and buried him in the farmhouse.
Recently, CMP has issued a circular asking the landlords not to rent out any house to Rohingya.
According to the circular, Rohingya people are trying to get involved in criminal activities through renting houses. In many cases, they have fled the refugee camps and got involved in terror activities. Already, members of several Rohingya criminal gangs have been arrested and legal actions have been taken against them.
In addition, legal action will be taken against those who rent out their residences to Rohingyas. Renting out houses to Rohingyas is illegal according to the country's existing law. A landlord must submit the tenants' citizenship form to the nearest police station and should inform police if any Rohingya try to rent a house in the area, added the circular.
Law enforcers had issued a similar circular in 2007 after the Rohingya influx. They said many of the refugees have settled outside the camps and are now helping others.
In recent times, Rohingyas are being held with Bangladeshi NID cards and passports following drives by law enforcers. Those cases are being investigated by police and Criminals Investigation Department (CID).
"We're on high alert in this regard," said ADC Palash Kanti Nath of CMP (south zone). "However, we need cooperation from landlords and locals as well. It's not possible to find out about the Rohingyas if they conceal the information from us," he added.
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