The Congress in Assam has decided to help Amila Shah, who was recently declared a foreigner by a Foreigners’ Tribunal and sent to detention camp in Tezpur.
A resident of Jamugurihat area, Amila was declared a foreigner by a Foreigners’ Tribunal for failing to substantiate her Indian citizenship. Subsequently, Amila was picked up by police on June 15 last and sent to the detention camp in Tezpur Central Jail.
Wife of one Ram Dulal Shah, a trader based at Dhalaibeel near Jamugurihat in Sonitpur district, Amila’s name was not there in the draft NRC published by the Assam government last year.
Also read: Assam: FT sends Sonitpur woman to detention camp, CPI(M) condemns act
While her name did not appear in the draft NRC, the names of all the other members of the family appeared in the draft NRC.
“We are exploring legal options to assist the Hindi-speaking woman having roots in Bihar. We are going to help her,” said Leader of Opposition in Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia on Thursday.
Saikia also said that he would seek punishment for those officials for whose fault several genuine Indian citizens were declared foreigner.
“The officials for whom genuine Indian citizens have suffered must be punished. There is a section of people, who are partisan and working for vested interests,” Saikia said while referring to the case of Madhubala Mondal of Chirang district, who was released on Wednesday after spending three years in detention camp.
A case of mistaken identity, Mondal was wrongly picked up by the police in March 2016 and was produced before a Foreigners’ Tribunal and subsequently sent to the detention camp in Kokrajhar.
On Wednesday, the Foreigners’ Tribunal after fresh hearing asked the police to release Mondal from the detention camp.