Guwahati: Police have sent a notice to an 85-year-old woman from Assam’s Kamrup district to prove her citizenship for the second time.
Earlier in 2001, a Foreigner’s Tribunal in Nalbari had declared the octogenarian woman as an Indian citizen.
The woman, identified as Bhanumati Baroi, a resident of Boko in Kamrup (rural) district and is alleged to be a foreigner by the border police. Due to old-age ailments and fracture in one leg, Baroi cannot walk properly.
In 1998, the police made a similar allegation against Bhanumati. That time, she appeared before a Foreigner’s Tribunal court in the state and deposited the voter list of 1965 and 1971, where her father’s name was mentioned.
Along with that, she deposited Panchayat certificates and other relevant documents in support of her claim as an Indian citizen.
In 2001, the Foreigner’s Tribunal court in Nalbari declared Bhanumati an Indian.
But, after 21 years, the police again accused her of being a foreigner and a notice was sent to her house from Boko’s Chomoria police station.
Bhanumati hails from Jashedarpam village in the Barpeta district. She shifted to Boko after her marriage with Gopal Baroi of Trilochan village in the Boko area. She has two sons.
Sanjoy Sarkar, Kamrup district president of All Assam Bengali Parishad said that the family lives in very poor condition and their suffering have increased after they received the foreigner’s notice recently.
He has also claimed that Bhanumati’s name appeared in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and she has cast her vote in several elections.