NHRC issues notice to Assam govt over verification of nationality

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Assam after taking suo motu cognizance of the allegations of harassment being meted out to the people in the state by police in the name of verification of their nationality.

It was reported that due to illegal immigration from Bangladesh to Assam, the Bengali speaking people have been under scanner for years together and the Assam Government has set up Foreigners' Tribunals to deal with doubtful cases.

The NHRC has observed that it has carefully perused and examined the contents of the news report of October 31.

The steps taken to identify the suspected cases of illegal immigration is a policy perspective of the government and it would not like to intervene into the matter but the allegations of harassment in the name of verification is a matter of concern, said the Commission.

According to media reports, there are detention centres in Assam, where the people, under scanner, are lodged in two categories, Bangladeshis and D-voters.

In many cases, once a person is declared an Indian citizen is again served notice by the police.

At the time of hearing, the subjects are not allowed to wear their shoes and they have to enter barefoot inside the court, while the government officers and advocates are exempted, it said.

There are 89,395 people estimated as illegal immigrants in Assam till August, 2017 and currently there are more than 2,000 people languishing in detention centers across the state, who are, allegedly, being subjected to discrimination.