J&K administration on backfoot; Domicile certificate issued to a Rohingya woman in Kishtwar

The Domicile certificate was also issued to Rohingya woman at least three years ago in the month of September 2020

October 5, 2023

FIR registered against a Revenue Officer and two others for issuing a fake certificate

The Union Territory administration in Jammu and Kashmir has been caught on the backfoot after it was revealed that a Rohingya woman, married to a local citizen in Kishtwar, has managed to obtain a domicile certificate after separately obtaining an Aadhar card for herself.

According to preliminary reports, the woman in question has been staying in Jammu and Kashmir for over one decade now.

The Domicile certificate was also issued to her at least three years ago in the month of September 2020.

So far, Kishtwar police have registered an FIR against a Revenue officer and two others for issuing a fake domicile certificate to a Rohingya woman. Further investigations into the matter are currently on.

Briefing media persons about the entire matter, Senior Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar Khalil Poswal said, “We have registered FIR No. 22/2023 under Sections 467, 468, 471, 120-B and 420 IPC at Police Station Dachhan.

All three including the accused, the issuing authority, and the one who facilitated the same have been booked,” he added.

Giving a background of the entire episode SSP Kishtwar said that after receiving a tip-off that a Domicile certificate has been issued to a Rohingya woman we have to lodge a formal FIR in the case to further launch detailed investigations. SSP said he has dispatched a police team to seize the relevant documents so that they can be examined by forensic experts.

According to SSP Kishtwar, some members of the Rohingya community have been staying in the Dachhan area of Kishtwar for a long time. SSP Kishtwar also clarified further action in the case will be taken only after verifying the documents and establishing the involvement of the government officials behind issuing these fake certificates.

SSP Kishtwar clarified, “Domiciles are only meant for citizens of India and the issued certificates are fake.

In Jammu, several hundred Rohingya families have been camping in different clusters.

When different political parties demanded their ouster from the Jammu region, the UT administration launched a special verification drive in the first week of March 2021 to verify their credentials. Following this Rohingyas were directed to report in the sports stadium in Jammu.

At the end of the drive, a total number of 155 Rohingyas were found to be staying illegally in Jammu and all of them were lodged in the holding centre.

According to official sources, at present a little over 260 Rohingyas have been camping in the holding centre out of which 60-70 are children.

There are senior citizens, men and women of different age groups, sources said.

Since June 2023, Rohingyas detained inside the holding centre have been growing restless and holding regular protest demonstrations seeking their freedom. After their protests turned violent the UT administration cracked its whip and took strict measures to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.

Zahid Hussain, a Rohingya camping in Jammu said, his two sons have been detained in the Hiranagar centre for over two years now. He said he hasn’t met them in the last three months following restrictions. Zahid Hussain said his children were detained after they returned from Ramban where they had gone to attend a religious gathering inside a mosque.

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2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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