Jammu and Kashmir police have launched a major crackdown in various Jammu districts against people allegedly providing shelter to Rohingya refugees or helping them get government documents, lodging multiple FIRs and arresting people.

Jammu inspector-general of police Anand Jain on Tuesday said around 40 people have been picked up for questioning in the drive launched in five districts of Jammu. Some of them have been formally arrested.

Police sources said those arrested include Rohingya men or women married to locals.

“We have been receiving lots of inputs that a lot of people have been aiding and abetting the illegal settlements that have come up in the Jammu zone, providing shelter, arranging Aadhaar and SIM cards and other documents that allow the citizens to receive basic services,” he said.

“We have lodged seven cases in Jammu district and searched more than 30 places in which aiders and abettors have been picked up for questioning. Cases have also been registered in Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch and Rajouri districts against those who have been aiding and abetting foreigners and arrests have been made,” he said.

Rohingya activists claim the crackdown is aimed at making Rohingyas feel more unsafe in Jammu and forcing them out of the region.

Thousands of Rohingya refugees have been living in Jammu for years to avoid persecution by authorities in their homeland in Myanmar. Many in Jammu have been calling for their ouster.

Around 269 Rohingyas were detained in Jammu in April 2021 following a campaign by locals, including BJP leaders. They have got no respite from the courts.

Sabber Kyaw, the director of Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, suspected the crackdown was aimed at forcing Rohingyas out of Jammu. “They are poor people, living in jhuggis (slums). Some people could have either rented their land to them or given it on humanitarian grounds. The action against them means they should no longer do that,” Kyaw told The Telegraph.

“We welcome any effort to verify and investigate but they should not be unnecessarily harassed,” he added.

Kyaw said the Rohingyas are singled out for harassment for political reasons. “You have Afghan refugees or Ho Chin people, who like us are also from Myanmar, live here but we are singled out for harassment,” he said.