Mizoram has witnessed an increase in the crime rate in the recent past, in which nearly 50 percent of the cases are accounted for by refugees in Mizoram who arrived in the state to take shelter from outside. Mizoram Home Minister K. Sapdanga reportedly asserted this in a review meeting with officials of the Home Department held on Friday.
Over 30,000 refugees are currently sheltering in the state, mainly Chin-Kuki from Myanmar and Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tract, and IDPs from Manipur. These refugees are primarily Chin community members, who share ethnic ties with Mizos. The state had earlier announced plans to conduct biometric enrolments for refugees using the Foreigner Identification Portal, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
Myanmar nationals arrived after the February 2021 military coup, and asylum seekers from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts came following a 2022 military offensive against ethnic insurgents.
Mizoram CM Lalduhoma, a day earlier, said that the government is considering confiscating ID cards issued by the Myanmar government from certain refugees who repeatedly cross the international border and violate Indian laws.
