In a shocking incident, a Foreigners’ Tribunal in Assam has accused a retired Indian Army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of being an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh, and asked him to prove his Indian citizenship.
The Assam Police has registered a case against Mohammad Ajmal Haque, who served in the Indian Army for 30 years, before retiring in 2008.
The Foreigners’ Tribunal No. 2, located at Boko under Kamrup district in Assam, has issued a notice to Haque and said that he was accused of illegally entering Assam without any valid documents after March 25, 1971. The tribunal is likely to hear the case on October 13.
“This is not only ridiculous, but also depressing for me. I have served the Indian Army for 30 years and now I have to face this insult. How could I have served in the Indian Army for so long if I was an illegal immigrantIJ” asked Haque, expressing his disappointment with the system.
Incidentally, Haque was commissioned by the President of India in the regular Army in the rank of Naib Subedar in January 2003.
“This is not the only incident. In 2012 they had registered a similar case against my wife Mumtaz Begum. We gave all the documents to the court then to prove our India citizenship,” he said, adding that the names of both his parents, as well as the names of his wife’s parents, figure in the 1966 voters list, which is enough to prove their Indian citizenship.
Commenting on the case, Assam Director-General of Police, Mukesh Sahai, said he has asked the district Superintendent of Police to find out the details of the case.
“The case is related to a 2008 proceeding of the court. So I have asked the SP to dig out the entire proceedings and to ascertain where the problem is. Unlike criminal cases, in cases related to the Foreigners’ Tribunal, the onus of proving one’s citizenship lies with the individual. So if the court asks any individual to prove his citizenship, he should submit the documents to it and settle the issue,” said the DGP.
The illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis has been a sensitive issue in Assam. There have been allegations that genuine Indian citizens are often harassed by police and other law enforcing agencies in the name of detecting illegal foreigners.
According to official statistics, Assam has close to 136,448 ‘D’ voters, meaning voters with doubtful citizenship credentials, who are not allowed to exercise their franchise.
The BJP-led Assam Government is currently working on a mega project to update the National Register of Citizenship, which is expected to end the issue of ‘D’ voters.
The Government also plans to seal the 262-km-long Indo-Bangladesh border to ensure that no one can infiltrate through the border anymore.