Biometric registration of Rohingyas begins

The government has started recording biometric data of Rohingyas as part of efforts to document the refugees entering Bangladesh to escape genocide in Myanmar.

The Department of Immigration and Passports began the registration process tonight at 8:40 pm ahead of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Cox's Bazar tomorrow, said Rajib Choudhury, senior executive of Tiger IT that handed over the software to the government yesterday.

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Sufia Khatun has been registered biometrically as the first Rohingya national at Kutupalong enrollment station, he added.

The DIP along with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Cox's Bazar district administration is expected to collect the data at 12 registration points.

Apart from the fingerprint, important information of each refugee will be stored in a dedicated server including name, gender, age, photo, parents' name, birthplace, nationality, country and religion.

Each person will receive an ID card having a barcode containing all relevant information which has developed the identification related software for other Southeast Asian countries.

In the absence of the ID, a scan of the person's fingerprint will also reveal all the data.