BJP MLA claims Rohingyas settling in Haridwar, CM denies

With a ruling party legislator claiming presence of Rohingya refugees in Haridwar, the state authorities have activated the security agencies even as chief minister Trivedra Singh Rawat said that there were no official reports confirming their settlement in the district that is currently witnessing an influx of Hindu devotees undertaking Kanwar Yatra.

Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion, the BJP MLA from Khanpur assembly seat in Haridwar, raised the issue at a meeting with Rawat and also alerted the state home department. He said he will soon raise the issue with Union home minister Rajnath Singh.

“My people alerted me about the presence of Rohingyas in Haridwar and as a responsible representative it was by duty to alert the government,” he said.

Following an interaction with the MLA, Anand Bardhan, principal secretary, home, activated the security agencies.

“The government is active on the front. Within 30 minutes of my interaction with the principal secretary home, the members of Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) contacted me for leads,” Champion added.

Haridwar is visited by nearly 75 lakh pilgrims during the ongoing Kanwar Yatra that began on July 28. Police and other security agencies are already on their toes.

“All security agencies have been alerted. We didn’t have any information about their (Rohingyas’) presence so far in the state. But, we cannot take such complaints lightly,” Bardhan said.

Meanwhile, CM denied their presence during a media interaction. “We are taking appropriate action to investigate the complaint,” said Madan Kaushik, cabinet minister and official spokesperson for the government.

Haridwar district magistrate (DM) Deepak Rawat said that Haridwar is most sensitive district with regard to security. “We don’t have any written complaint about Rohingyas so far,” he said.

As per 2011 population census, Haridwar had population of over one million. Nearly 64.27% are Hindus and 34.28% are Muslims.