Declared foreigners found in Kokrajhar Police Battalion: Gauhati HC grants visitation rights

Two brothers, who were picked up by Assam Police and whose whereabouts were not known after that, have been kept at a state police battalion in Kokrajhar district, the Gauhati High Court was informed on Wednesday.

The two had been declared foreigners by a tribunal in 2017.

Hearing a writ petition by their nephew Torap Ali to locate his uncles, a divisional bench of Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Malasri Nandi also granted him visiting rights to Abu Bakkar and Akbar Ali.

"...the learned standing counsel for the FT (foreigners tribunal) matters has submitted that as per instructions received by him, the petitioner's uncles...who have been taken into custody are presently lodged at Holding Centre at 7th Assam Police Battalion, Saraikhola, Kokrajhar," they said.

The court said it is inclined to grant the petitioner visitation rights to the two detained persons.

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Listing the case for June 16, the bench asked the government to file an affidavit regarding apprehension and the detaining of the two persons at the police battalion one day prior to the next date of hearing.

On May 29, the Gauhati High Court issued notice to the Assam government directing it to provide details on the whereabouts of two brothers and on the "arbitrary arrest of declared foreigners who are apprehending illegal pushback".

The petitioner claimed that the authorities refused to give details of the whereabouts of the two brothers since May 25, when they were called to the Nagarbera police station.

In 2017, the brothers were sent to the detention camp in Goalpara after they were declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunal as they failed to provide documents to prove that they or their forefathers had come to India before March 24, 1971, the cut-off decided by the 1985 Assam Accord.
    
They were released on bail in 2020 following the Supreme Court's directive that those who are in detention for over two years may be released on bail.