For persons in Assam were allegedly forced to undergo ‘Bangladeshi test’ in Baksa district recently by a mob before they were handed over to the police.
As per reports, four men identified as Sahid Miya and his wife Bimala Begum, Lalbor Ali, and Abdul Qayum were returning from Guwahati to Suwagpur in a pick-up truck with building materials.
A mob of around 50 men stopped the vehicle and asked the four persons to prove their Assamese identity and demanded proof of their inclusion in the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
When the four persons failed to provide ‘convincing’ replies, the mob nabbed them and handed them over to the Goreswar police station.
Officer-in-charge of the station H Goswami said, “The mob took the four persons as illegal Bangladeshi.”
“However, on verification, we found they are not illegal immigrants,” Goswami added.
This is not the first case of mob questioning “suspected foreigners” to prove their Assamese identity.
Some NGOs in the states neighbouring Assam have upped the ante against the NRC-excluded people to stop them from sneaking into the states.