Despite dip in new cases, 761 persons declared as foreigners in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: In Assam, there has been a slight dip in the number of new cases referred to the Foreigners Tribunals (FT), but on the other hand, a good number of people continue to be declared foreigners by the FTs. There are 100 FTs functioning in Assam – 36 permanent and 64 additional.

Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies to determine whether a person residing in India illegally is a foreigner or not. According to the statistics of the Border Police wing of Assam Police, in December 2022, new cases against 17 people were referred to the FTs. In the same month, the FTs had declared a total of 761 persons as foreigners.

Foreigners were classified under two heads for identification under Clause 5 of the Assam Accord – pre-1971 and post 1971. Any person who entered Assam between 1966-1971 shall be detected, and his name will be deleted from the electoral rolls for 10 years. On the expiry of a period of 10 years following the date of detection, the person has to apply again for restoration of his name on the electoral rolls. Any person who entered Assam after 1971 will be detected and necessary steps will be taken by the Border Police for his deportation in accordance with relevant laws.

In December 2022, the FTs had declared 33 persons as foreigners under the pre-1971 head and 728 persons under the post-1971 head. Till the end of December, 2022, there were 1,06,873 cases pending in the FTs. Since inception, the FTs have declared 1,52,494 persons as foreigners (both pre-1971 and post-1971).

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