Hyderabad has second highest number of Rohingyas after J&K: Kishan Reddy

Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said the Centre has received a report from the Telangana State government stating that 6,000 Rohingyas are staying in Hyderabad.

Addressing media here on Thursday, he said the Rohingyas population in Hyderabad is the second highest in the country after Jammu and Kashmir.

The Centre is looking into the report sent by the State government to assess the figure given to it or more. Further, it has also come to the notice of the centre that some of the Rohingyas have taken Aadhaar cards and some police personnel were also suspended.

That apart, steps will be taken to assess how the Rohingyas have come all the way from Myanmar to Hyderabad, which is at the Centre of the country.

"Who brought them here and who are sheltering them and other issues will also be taken into consideration," the Minister said. He said the country is yet to fulfil the rightful dues of its own citizens with housing, livelihoods creation, alleviation from the poverty etc.

It was against this backdrop that the country cannot give space to the increasing number of people coming from outside of the country," he said.

"We have called reports from various State governments on the number of Rohingyas staying in their State. We are collating the details of the total number of them staying across the country," he said.

Further, Kishan Reddy said the Centre is taking several initiatives to strengthen the police forces across the country. The crime rate in Delhi has come down by 20 per cent when compared to the earlier statistics.

As part of the initiatives, the Centre is talking to the State to bring in a new emergency toll-free number 112. This will handle emergency calls from the people for ambulance, police, fire, women in distress etc.

The exiting 100 and 101 will be gradually replaced once the 112 tollfree number becomes popular, he said. Similarly, as part of strengthening the police forces across the country, the Centre has formed a committee with retired DGPs.

If needed, changes will be brought in the IPC, CRPC and police training code. "We hope that clarity on all the above issues will emerge in the next five months as to what steps the Centre will have to take in strengthening the police forces in the country," he said.