Assam Frees Nine "Declared Foreigners" Ahead Of Citizens List Publication

At least nine people who were declared as foreigners and lodged in the detention camp at Goalpara Jail were released today, ahead of the final publication of the National Register of Citizens in Assam.

They were among the 335 declared foreigners in Assam who were supposed to be released following a Supreme Court order that those kept under detention for over three years be let off on the fulfilment of certain conditions.

According to government records available with NDTV, four of the nine people released are Muslims and the rest Hindus. They are among the 1,145 declared foreigners accommodated in six detention camps across Assam.

The conditions for release set by the Supreme Court include two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each, submission of a verifiable address, and collection of biometrics that include all 10 fingerprints besides an iris scan. They are also required to report to the police station every week.

The state government also revealed that 25 declared foreigners had died in detention due to illness. As many as 24 of these deaths occurred over the last three years.

Since 1985, as many as 1,17,164 people have been declared as foreigners living illegally in Assam. The Supreme Court recently extended the deadline for the final publication of Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) list from July 31 to August 31. The exercise that aims to weed out illegal immigrants in the state has come in for criticism from rights activists who claim that more than 40 lakh people, many of them legitimate citizens, have been left out of the list so far.

According to Assam border police sources, others will be released in phased manner. Bail is being granted by foreigners tribunals set up in each district.