Invoking the long-defunct Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, for the first time in Assam, the Sonitpur district administration has ordered five people to leave the country within 24 hours. They were all declared “foreigners” by a Foreigners’ Tribunal earlier this year. The orders, signed by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anand Kumar Das on Tuesday, were sent to four women and a man from Dhubokata village. The administration says these people came to the village as two families nearly two decades ago. The Border Police filed a case against them in 2006, following which the tribunal declared them foreigners this year. The order states that their presence is “prejudicial to public interest and internal security of the state.”
Families missing despite eviction orders, police unable to find any clues
Directives issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Police clearly stated that the families should leave Assam and the Indian border within 24 hours via the Dhubri/Shribhumi/South Salmara-Mankachar route, which directly connects to Bangladesh. They also warned that failure to comply would result in the government taking “appropriate action” to forcibly remove them. However, when a police team arrived in the village on Thursday, no trace of the families was found. Sonitpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Barun Purkayastha stated, “These people are absconding and untraceable. We are continuously searching and will take action as per the law as soon as they are found.” Locals say the family left the village several years ago. Zakir Hussain, a resident of a nearby village, said they had come from central Assam about 19-20 years ago and had come under suspicion early on.
Locals’ Statements—Suspicion Led to Police
According to villagers, as soon as the families began settling in the village, some people raised questions about their identity. Zakir Hussain explains, “They came from central Assam and were settling in, but some locals became suspicious of them. The matter reached the Border Police, and the family left the village shortly thereafter.” However, it is unclear where they are now. According to the administration, the tribunal’s declaration of these individuals as foreigners clearly indicates that the documents proving their citizenship were either incomplete or inadmissible. This case also connects to the broader debate that Assam has long been grappling with regarding foreign infiltration, the NRC process, and border management.
Background of the 1950 Act—A Way to Bypass Diplomatic Process?
The state cabinet approved the process to implement the 1950 Act in September this year, giving a sudden new impetus to this decades-old law. This law was originally enacted after the Assam government demanded that the central government take strict measures to control the increasing immigration activity from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after Partition. The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, empowers the central government or its authorized officers to expel from Assam any person who is not a native of India and whose presence is considered detrimental to the public interest, internal security, or the interests of any Scheduled Tribe in Assam. Deportation typically requires coordination between the two countries and citizenship verification, but Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says this law allows diplomatic procedures to be “bypassed.” This case is being seen not only as a matter of expulsion of five people, but also as a signal for Assam’s future immigration policy.
