New Delhi: Activists denounced the action as an arbitrary crackdown on people fleeing violence after Indian police claimed they had detained 74 Rohingya refugees on Monday for "illegally" residing in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

According to the police, who did not specify ages, the Muslim Rohingya community members were detained in six towns and cities throughout the state, and 10 of the refugees were minors.

The detained individuals, according to the campaign organisation Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, have been residing in the region for about ten years after escaping persecution in Myanmar.

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According to Initiative director Sabber Kyaw Min, many had been engaged in manual labour, including garbage collection. "They have only been demanding refuge," he continued. "The community is asking for the detentions to end,"

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Thousands of Rohingya have escaped Myanmar to nations like Bangladesh, which is next to India. The military of Myanmar denies committing atrocities against people.

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New Delhi neither has its own laws protecting refugees nor has it ratified the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention, which outlines refugee rights and states' obligations to protect them.

As of early last year, 18,000 Rohingya were residing in India, according to Ali Johar, co-founder of the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative.