Rohingyas being sent back to camp after treatment

Police have started sending back the Rohingyas, who recovered from their injuries after receiving treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), to the refugee camp of Teknaf in Cox's Bazar.

The decision was taken after a meeting at CMCH on Tuesday, attended by CMCH Director Brigadier Md Jalal Uddin, Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Iqbal Bahar and Deputy Commissioner (north) of CMP Abdul Warish.

CMCH Director Brig Gen Jalal Uddin told The Daily Star: “As per the decision taken in the meeting, hospital authorities will inform the in-charge (IC) of CMCH police outpost before discharging any Rohingyas. Later, police will take the Rohingyas to its custody before sending them back to Teknaf.”

Police and the hospital sources said they had taken the decision so that the Rohingyas could not spread out in the city and elsewhere after being discharged from the hospital. 

DC (north) Abdul Warish said, “Seven Rohingyas have been discharged from the hospital today [yesterday] while 14 others were detained from different parts of the city on Tuesday. Today, all of them along with their relatives were sent back to Teknaf by bus under a police escort.”

According to the sources at the CMCH police outpost, a total of 102 injured Rohingyas, who entered bordering Bangladesh fleeing military offensive in Myanmar's Rakhine state, were admitted to CMCH till yesterday.

Earlier, 15 Rohingyas, who received treatment at CMCH, were discharged under the custody of the organisations that took them to the hospital, said Assistant Sub-inspector Alauddin Talukdar of CMCH police outpost.

At present, 80 injured Rohingyas are undergoing treatment at CMCH, said Alauddin, adding that two more Rohingyas had succumbed to their injuries under treatment.   

Meanwhile, 43 more Rohingyas were detained from Hathazari, Lohagara, Sitakunda and Banshkali upazilas of Chittagong in the past three days and were sent back to refugee camp in Teknaf, said sources in police.

Asked about the situation, Superintendent of Police (SP) Noor E Alam Mina of Chittagong district said, “Officers-in-charge (OCs) of the all police stations have been asked to remain alert so that no Rohingya can stay in the district.”

“Apart from that, union parishad (UP) chairmen and members have also been asked to inform police if any Rohingya is found in their respective areas,” said the SP.

Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Zillur Rahman Chowdhury also told The Daily Star: “We have ordered all the upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) and police to send back Rohingyas to Cox's Bazar who would be found anywhere in the district.”