PUCL says Rohingya refugees tortured, ‘abandoned to die’ at sea by Indian authorities; demands independent probe

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has issued a scathing condemnation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Government, alleging a covert and brutal deportation operation involving Rohingya refugees. In a statement released on Thursday, PUCL accused Indian authorities of kidnapping, torturing, and forcibly deporting refugees registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in violation of domestic and international law.

Earlier this week, Maktoob reported the incident after receiving the evidence that 40 Rohingya refugees India threw in the sea near the Myanmar coast are safe and now under the protection of the National Unity Government (NUG), a coalition of pro-democracy groups formed after the military coup in 2021.

“The fact that the refugees thrown into international waters, belong to the Rohingya community, which is one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, indicates that the Indian Government is even prepared to cast aside its obligations under one of the most important significant human rights treaty it has ratified, namely the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide of 1948.”

According to PUCL, the incident began on May 6 when several Rohingya refugees, including Muslim and Christian minorities, were detained from across Delhi by police under the pretence of biometric data collection. The detainees, who included children, elderly individuals, women, and people with serious illnesses like cancer, were then transported to Inderlok Detention Centre and, later, secretly flown to Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There, the group was allegedly blindfolded, bound, and put onto Indian naval ships, only to be abandoned in international waters near the Tanintharyi region on the Myanmar-Thailand maritime border.

PUCL asserts that the refugees were beaten, tortured, interrogated, and subjected to sexual abuse, with officials accusing them of involvement in terrorism, specifically referencing the Pahalgam attack in Jammu & Kashmir, without any evidence. The group described the operation as an act of “inhuman and illegal deportation” that effectively sought to leave vulnerable refugees “to die at sea.”

A survivor’s testimony, released in an audio message by PUCL, recounted being tortured aboard the naval vessel and claimed that women were sexually harassed. The survivor said, “We were treated very badly. They used abusive language, and the women among us were subjected to sexual harassment… Then, we were thrown into international waters.”

The National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, an opposition group in exile, has reportedly rescued and now protects the 40 refugees, though their precise whereabouts remain undisclosed. PUCL confirmed that three refugees are still being held at Inderlok, while another group of 14 Rohingyas, detained separately, were allegedly beaten in custody.

Legal and Humanitarian Concerns
PUCL has condemned the government’s actions as a “gross violation” of constitutional protections under Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and the right to life and liberty to all persons, regardless of citizenship. The group also pointed to violations of the UN Convention Against Torture and the Genocide Convention, to which India is a party.

Despite not being a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, India is bound by customary international law, including the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning refugees to places where they face danger. The Rohingya, widely recognised as one of the world’s most persecuted communities, face an ongoing genocide in Myanmar — a fact noted by the International Court of Justice.

The Supreme Court of India, which was petitioned on May 8 to intervene and stop the deportation, reportedly declined to act, a move PUCL described as a failure to uphold the right to life and dignity for all persons in India, including refugees.

Government Silence and State Policy

PUCL drew comparisons to the Trump-era deportation practices in the United States, accusing the Modi-led BJP government of adopting a “rule of law-defying toolkit” to deal with so-called illegal immigrants. The statement referred to comments by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who promoted “pushing back” refugees at the border as a form of policy innovation, which PUCL labelled “heartless, inhumane, illegal, and unconstitutional.”

PUCL called on the Indian Government to launch an independent inquiry into the illegal deportation operation and hold the officials responsible for alleged torture and abuse accountable.

The group also called for transparency by disclosing the whereabouts of all detained Rohingyas and facilitating their safe reunification with families.

PUCL concluded by urging the government to remember India’s civilizational values, including the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — the world is one family — and to cease actions that contradict both the law and India’s humanitarian legacy.