Assam: Woman declared 'foreigner', family claims roots from Bihar

A 40-year-old woman residing in Assam's Sonitpur district has been declared a 'foreigner' by a tribunal and has been sent to a detention centre, even though her family has claimed her roots are from Bihar.

Amila Sah, a resident of Dhalaibil, Sonitpur was arrested on June 15 and sent to a detention centre.

On April 30, a Foreigners' Tribunal had declared Amila as a 'foreigner' after she failed to prove that she was the daughter of late Keshab Prashad Gupta, who hailed from Bihar's Nalanda and had shifted to Pratapgarh Tea Estate in Assam in 1948.

The woman's family has claimed that they have been living in Assam since the British era and contended that the woman is a genuine Indian citizen.

"My mother had submitted all papers in Tezpur court but still she was declared a foreigner. She was sent to a detention centre on June 15. She was born in Pratapgarh Tea Estate to a man who hailed from Bihar and had settled in Assam long back," her son Bhola Sah told reporters on Monday.

He urged Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to take cognisance of the matter and help his mother.

"I would like to ask the Chief Minister that if a person who hails from Bihar and stays in Assam is called foreigner, what kind of justice is this? I urge the Chief Minister to help my mother," Bhola said.

In a similar incident in the state, former Army officer and Kargil War veteran Mohammed Sanaullah was recently declared a foreigner and detained by police.

In May, Sanaullah, who retired as an honorary Lieutenant in the Army, was detained for failing to comply with the rules of NRC - a register of Indian citizens prepared in 1951 which is being updated currently to weed out illegal immigrants from Assam.

On June 7, Gauhati High Court had granted bail to Sanaullah on two local sureties of Rs 20,000 each. He was released from a detention centre in Guwahati a day later.