The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) arrested eight refugees belonging to the Leda (Tal) refugee camp yesterday, while they were driving rickshaws in Teknaf, said a refugee on condition of anonymity.

The arrested were handed over to Teknaf police for questioning and are expected to be sent to Cox’s Bazaar jail.

The recent arrests follow reports of over 50 Rohingya refugees detained earlier this week by Bangladeshi authorities for seeking work outside the camp.

Camp inmates say that BDR and local police have been patrolling the area around the Leda camp.

“I think it is part of a specific plan by authorities. There is something behind it,” said a refugee leader.

Shamjida (30) wife of a detained refugee and a mother of three said the arrest of her husband has left her family in dire straits.

“My husband was arrested by the BDR on October 26, while he was going to Teknaf to look for work. Now I have no firewood to cook and no food. My children are starving and I don’t know when my husband will be released,” she said.

Many residents of the refugee camps say they are facing a chronic shortage of food as rations coming from outside have dropped and residents are prohibited from leaving the camp to look for food.

More than 12,000 refugees live in the Leda camp with little support from outside, and they survive on whatever work they can find in local villages, said a woman refugee.