Mohammad Azmal Haque, an Army veteran, was placed in the category of “doubtful voters” in Assam in a case of “mistaken identity”, says a report of the state police.
But Mr. Haque, who retired as a junior commissioned officer in September 2016, contested this claim, alleging “the administration is shaken up and is now resorting to damage control”.
Confirming that the police has submitted a detailed report to the Chief Minister’s office, Assam Police chief Mukesh Sahay told The Hindu that the person they were looking for was Mr. Haque’s namesake but their fathers were different. “Though their names were same, the JCO’s father is Maqbool Ali, while we were looking for the son of Maqbool Hussain. Initially, we had returned the notice to the Foreigner’s Tribunal saying the person is untraceable. But then the notice was resent by the Tribunal,” said Mr Sahay.
Meets SP
“The JCO met the Superintendent of Police today and I have spoken to his seniors in the Army and the issue has been sorted out,” he added. The Assam police chief said the notice on Mr. Haque was collected by the brother of the Army veteran and not served by the State police.
“But that’s only after our local police station called me up on September 17 and informed me that a notice has come from the Foreigner’s Tribunal,” said Mr. Haque.
He said nearly about 40 residents of his village, Kalahi Kash, barely 60 km from Guwahati, had received similar notices. There are 100 such tribunals in Assam that determine the citizenship of a person whose Indiannationality is doubtful. “There is only one Maqbool in our village and that is my father. In some documents, his name is mentioned as Maqbool Ali while in a few others it is Hussain,” said the retired Army official.
Detection and deportation of foreign nationals was an electoral campaign that played a major role in propelling the BJP to power. While the Congress alleged that “minorities are being harassed in the garb of detecting foreigners”, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal rejected the charge.
“I want to make it clear that every citizen, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, will be protected under the law. As far as foreigners are concerned, there are relevant laws to deal with them,” Mr Sonowal told The Hindu without getting into the specifics of Mr Haq’s case.