Hyderabad: After a Rohingya was arrested by the NIA for his alleged terror links, the police has started efforts to collect details about refugees staying in Hyderabad and its outskirts. While more than 1400 people are staying in the limits of the Cyberabad commissionerate, a few hundred among them are yet to get UN refugee cards.

The Shamshabad zonal police has started a survey to find settlers who have now moved out from refugee camps to rented houses on the outskirts and has made it compulsory for them to register with the police. The refugees also have to inform the police whenever they leave the city for another state.

Senior officials from Shamshabad zone have said that the move is for better surveillance of foreign nationals staying in the city. “We are not happy with the kind of surveillance we have right now. Only NGOs have been constantly in touch with the refugees. We have to improve the surveillance and keep a tab on each person for security purposes,” said Shamshabad DCP A.R. Srinivas.

As per the new plan, every refugee has to register with the local police and renew the registration bi-annually. “Another issue is their mobility. They keep moving to other states like Karnataka, Kashmir etc. So we have now made it compulsory for them to inform us when they go to other cities or states. They have to state the purpose of visit, and the duration. They also have to report to us when they come back,” said the DCP.

Mr Srinivas added that so far no other criminal offences have been reported among the refugees apart from the one terror-link case. Rohingya refugees, who have taken shelter at refugee camps at Balapur, Barkhas, and Shaheen Nagar, meanwhile are still struggling to adapt with Hyderabad.

Though a few youngsters from the community have started finding livelihood by doing daily wage labour, their life is dependent on the alms given by different NGOs and human rights organisations.

Health hazards and lack of basic education trouble them since they cannot get access to hospitals and schools in the city. Police worry that they might get involved in criminal activities with the local influence.