Ukhyia, Cox’s Bazaar: Rohingya refugees have been prohibited from using mobile phones in Kutupalong after a ban was issued on October 16, a camp resident said.

Shakwat Husson, head of the Kutupalong camp, ordered all refugees to hand over mobile phones in their possession to camp authorities, the resident said on condition of anonymity.

“If anyone is caught using a mobile phone inside the camp, they will be punished and the phone seized,” Husson was quoted as saying by the camp resident.

Residents of Kutupalong said they had no idea why the ban was issued and that refugees have been using mobile phones since they were first introduced in Bangladesh.

“Nearly 50 mobile phones were handed over to authorities in the first two days since the ban,” said another camp resident, who also asked not to be named.

A refugee committee member in Kutupalong said the ban had made it “very difficult to communicate with relatives” and to stay in touch with people for other social purposes.

A community worker from the camp questioned the timing of the ban and suggested that it might have something to do with leaked reports of a resident of Nayapara camp being tortured last month by security officers.