Eighteen individuals identified as alleged members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) have been taken into custody by the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) and handed over to the police after a boat sank off the coast of Char Pudia (Shin Maphyu Island) near Teknaf, Bangladesh, on the morning of July 31, according to Bangladeshi media reports.
Reports said the boat was heading toward Myanmar's Rakhine State when it sank in the Bay of Bengal. Local fishermen rescued 18 people who were found drifting at sea before handing them over to the BGB. Following preliminary screening, the BGB transferred them to the police for further investigation.
Commenting on the incident, Lieutenant Colonel Hanifur Rahman Bhuiyan, Commanding Officer of BGB Battalion-2 in Teknaf, said authorities are verifying how the detainees entered Bangladesh. He added that further details would be released after the investigation is completed.
Mohammad Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station, also confirmed that the 18 individuals handed over by the BGB are currently being questioned by police.
According to the reports, all of those rescued were adult males, with no women or children among them. Another 13 people who were reportedly on board the vessel remain missing.
Bangladeshi media further reported that the detainees had previously operated in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in Rakhine State before later moving to Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Photo – Original Uploader
