A retired Armyman and his wife in Assam were asked to prove they are Indian in front of a foreigners’ tribunals set up to track illegal immigrants, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. Mahiruddin Ahmed said he received a notice in September that claimed he and his wife had entered India after March 24, 1971, and lived here without valid documents.
Ahmed, who lives in Barpeta, retired as a havildar clerk in 2004. He now has to appear before the tribunal on Monday, IANS reported.
Ahmed told The Telegraph that his surname was missing from the notice, and the names of his father and wife were incorrect. He has not approached the tribunal pointing out the mistakes.
“It is very hurting and shocking that we are subjected to such humiliation after service in a force like the Indian Army,” he was quoted as saying. He said he was born in 1964 in Barpeta, and asked how he could have joined the Army without being an Indian citizen.
In September, another retired Army officer in Assam was asked to prove that he is not an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh. The police had later said it was a case of mistaken identity.
The incident comes just as the state has to update its National Register of Citizens by December 31 as per a Supreme Court order.
The Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Assam in 2016, and had promised to close the border in order to end illegal immigration from Bangladesh.
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