India moves to deport Rohingya girl to coup-hit Myanmar

A 14-year-old Rohingya girl has been taken to a border town in northeastern India for deportation to Myanmar, police officials said yesterday, as the UN refugee agency and rights groups pressed New Delhi to halt the process. 

Tens of thousands of Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in their home country Myanmar, have lived in India for years but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government regards them as a security threat and has started detaining them.

Police have taken the girl to a border crossing in Manipur state, where paperwork was being finalised to send her back to coup-hit Myanmar. She had been sheltered for more than a year in the neighbouring Indian state of Assam, while her family lived as refugees in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar.

"It is under process," Assam police official BL Meena told Reuters, referring to her deportation. "This was previously scheduled."

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, opposed the deportation.

"The situation in Myanmar is not yet conducive for voluntary return in a safe, secure, and sustainable manner, and returning the child to Myanmar may place her at immediate risk of serious harm," a UNHCR spokesperson said.