Mizoram cops conduct anti-foreigner drive

Aizawl, Jul 14 (UNI) The Mizoram police are currently engaged in a state-wide assessment survey to flush out foreigners from Indian soil following a Gauhati High Court directive.

''We have been conducting the assessment survey since the past one week. We are summing up the assessment and will shortly submit them to Aizawl,'' Kolasib additional SP Lalremmuana told UNI here over the phone.

Kolasib district, which borders Assam, has the largest number of non-tribal residents.

However, the police have met with a gargantuan task in identifying Indians from non-Indians as most non-tribal residents claimed that they hailed from Karimganj district in Assam and were able to provide residential certificates such as the EPIC.

The police are examining the authenticity of the EPICs produced by suspected Bangladeshi illegal migrants.

Gauhati High Court, following an appeal from the Mizoram government over its interim order of June 13 that directs the state not to arrest or deport any Indian nationals on grounds of not possessing the ILP, has made a modification allowing the state government to ''verify the credentials of those persons whom the respondents suspect are not citizens''.

The high court also permits the state government to check whether such suspects possess Inner Line Permits as ''contemplated by the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873''.

The assessment survey is conducted simultaneously in all the districts.

However, the police are refrained from ''arresting and deporting'' even the ILP-less non-tribals.

UNI ZS PL RL HT1928