76-year-old Sunirmal Bagchi alias Rantu Bagchi, a resident of Silchar’s Ambikapatty, can now heave a sigh of relief if there is no fresh turn of events in the NRC update exercise that is going on in Assam.
Having served a notice by the NRC authorities of being a ‘declared foreigner’, Bagchi turned up at Kumbha’s panchayat office, now a makeshift NRC Seva Kendra (NSK), for a ‘hearing’ on Friday.
Amid scorching heat wave, Bagchi, along with his two sons–Samrat and Subharaj Bagchi, reached Kumbha’s NSK, situated 30 kilometres from Silchar town for a hearing.
The agony of being served a notice as a declared foreigner post the publication of an additional draft exclusion list on June 26 last, was quite visible in Bagchi’s face as he sat before a ‘disposing officer’, Dwipen Kumar Sarma, a supply inspector by profession, entrusted with NRC duties.
“I have gone through his documents and now would place it before the higher authorities. I am not the authorized person to clear his name of being a ‘declared foreigner’,” Sarma told Northeast Now.
Sarma, however, said, “I have received a call from the ADC, the in charge of NRC update process in Cachar district in this regard, and was told to quickly look into the matter.”
Bagchi, didn’t come short of any documents and laid out all valid documents including his certificate of birth, besides his legacy data of 1966 and 1971.
Having exercised his voting rights each time since 1966 till the general elections held two months back, was it a gross mistake by an NSK or any NRC official, has become a point of murmur, said a well-wisher of Bagchi, who accompanied him to the NSK.
Talking to this correspondent, Bagchi said, “Today they have examined all my documents. Now, I hope that I can heave a sigh of relief. I cannot explain the trauma I have been going through since July 1, the day when I was served this notice. After examining all my documents and my legacy data which is in my name, they too (NRC authorities) have agreed that there was a gross mistake somewhere or the other.”
“They have not said as to how the mistake happened. But, my question is why it should happen and make people like me suffer, both physically as well as mentally,” he said.