NIDs delivered to Rohingya at Tk 130,000 each

The detective branch of Chattogram metropolitan police detained 10 people on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in delivering national identification (NID) cards to the Rohingya refugees illegally in exchange of Tk 130,000 per head.

DB police deputy commissioner Mohammad Ali Hossain informed the newsmen of the matter at his office on Wednesday afternoon at Monsurabad in Chattogram.

Among the detainees, five are the data entry operators (contractual) of the election commission (EC). They are Yeasin Arafat, Nurnabi, Mizanur Rahman, Farhadul Islam and Emon Das.

The remaining detainees are Kamal Hossain, Sona Mia, Md Kamal, Nurul Absar and Shamsu master.

On a tip-off, police detained 10 people on Tuesday conducting a drive at Housing Estate High School in Halishahar -- a place where Rohingya people came to make NID cards, Mohammad Ali Hossain said.

Of the detainees, five are working at EC as data entry operators.  

He said during the primary interrogation, the suspects admitted that Shamsu master would charge Tk 130,000 to deliver NID to a Rohingya.

Then he handed over the money to Nurul Absar who later would make a birth certificate for the Rohingya through a syndicate in Dhaka. The birth certificate is used to make the NID card.

Deputy commissioner of metropolitan police detective branch (West), Mohammad Ali Hossain, further said Shamsu master and Nurul Absar were arrested earlier over NID forgery in Cox’s Bazar. They later walked out of jail on bail. Police have filed a case over the incident.

The accused will be placed on remand to identify the other perpetrators.