Home Minister Rajnath Singh/File Image
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the states have been directed to identify Rohingya refugees and collect their biometric details.
The Centre will send the biometric report collected by states to the Myanmar government through diplomatic channel, he said.
Singh chaired a meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council here to discuss issues related to inter-state relations and security matters, including the Maoist menace.
The meeting was attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi. Odisha was represented in the meeting by Finance Minister Shashi Bhusan Behera.
The Union Home Minister said that the states required central forces which the Centre would provide as per need.
The move has been taken so that the illegal immigrants can be identified as they move to different parts of the country.
The state governments have been told to instruct the local police to capture the biometric details of Rohingyas and other illegal immigrants, a senior Home Ministry official said.
Around 14,000 Rohingyas living in the country are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, while about 40,000 are said to be staying illegally.
