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102-yr-old woman, son, who illegally entered Assam after Modi’s assurance, face detention

An ailing mother and her son from Bangladesh, who illegally entered Assam, has been sent to detention camp.

By Oneindia Staff Writer
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Guwahati, May 27: This is one more story from Assam about illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and their plight. On one hand the northeastern state is facing massive demographic changes and on the other the "illegal" immigrants are either demanding citizenship rights or are claiming to be bonafide citizens of India.

Moreover, there is a religious angle to the whole problem. While the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is running the governments both in the state and the centre, has promised to give Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi Hindu migrants, opposition like the Congress and powerful local students' bodies vehemently oppose such a move.

illegal immigrants

The case of a 60-year-old man and his 102-year-old mother, natives of Jagannathpur in Sylhet, Bangladesh, who are currently staying "illegally" in Silchar, Assam, has once again brought the issue of influx of illegal immigrants to the limelight.

The man, Radhika Biswas, told The Telegraph that he came with his ailing mother Unomotibala to Assam in search of a safe home. However, as of now his dream has been shattered as both Biswas and his mother are facing detention from the authorities as they entered the country illegally. Moreover, they are being forced to stay in a school as they have nowhere to go.

Biswas said that he decided to leave his birthplace after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Hindu migrants from Bangladesh will get Indian citizenship. "Modi ji's persona and his words ignited hope among many non-Muslims in Bangladesh that we can come and live here with dignity. We sold our house and other belongings and came with whatever money we got," he said.

Biswas said that he spent a huge amount of money on agents who paid security forces to help his and his mother's entry into Assam. The man also claimed that one of his relatives in Assam cheated him and thus Biswas lost around Rs 5 lakh.

Biswas rued the fact that he tried his level best to procure National Register of Citizens documents for himself and his mother to become "legal" citizens of the country, but failed.

The police got a scent of Biswas and his mother's illegal stay in Assam after the headmistress of the Sarbodoy Lower Primary School at Malugram in Silchar informed the local administration that the duo was staying in the school verandah.

According to a senior cop, Radhika and Unomotibala were produced before the court in Silchar on Friday. The court in its order asked the police to send them to a detention camp soon. Police officials said that the investigation has confirmed that both are from Bangladesh.

Silchar MLA and Deputy Speaker Dilip Kumar Paul said the previous Congress governments are responsible for the suffering of people like Radhika and Unomotibala. He said the government will soon pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, to solve such cases. He urged the Congress to support the bill.

Silchar MP Sushmita Dev from the Congress said her party had never opposed the bill. "Citizenship for persecuted migrants is a different matter. This family cannot claim they came to India due to persecution. We have sympathy for them but they came here illegally. I feel that citizenship should be given to persecuted migrants but a clear draft of the bill has to come out first."

OneIndia News

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