TCN News
Mohammed Sanaullah, 52 years, served in the Indian Army for 30 years and after his retirement joined the Border Police where he was the assistant sub-Inspector (ASI) but when summoned by the Assam Police Border Organisation for his hearings, he mentioned the date of joining the army as 1978 instead of 1987. For this slip of tongue he has been declared a non-citizen and arrested and sent to the detention camp at Goalpara on Tuesday 28th May.
Interestingly, Sanaullah himself worked for the Border police which engages in identifying, detaining and deporting doubtful citizens and illegal migrants. This unit of the State police often employs retired defence and paramilitary personnel. But on Tuesday the same department declared him a foreigner.
Sanaullah was born in 1967 in a village of Kalahikash that falls under the jurisdiction of the Boko Police Station in Kamrup district, Assam.
He submitted all the relevant documents to the tribunal such as his matriculation passing certificate (1985), his father’s land records in the village, name of his father in the NRC, in the voters list, army records where after joining in 1987 and serving as a jawan he was promoted to junior commissioned officer and his retirement in 2017 after which he joined the Border Police. Sanaullah even fought in the Kargil war and was given a letter of appreciation by the President of India.
However the Tribunal was not convinced and sent him to the detention camp.
Sanaullah was served notice in 2018 and his name was listed in D-voter’s list. From the last one year he attended at least five hearings trying to prove that he is an Indian citizen.
A sub-Inspector of the Border police had allegedly submitted a false report stating that Sanaullah had entered India in 1971 from Bangladesh and was a daily wage labourer. Hence he had no valid documents to prove his citizenship. His case was referred to the Boko Foreign Tribunal who declared him a foreigner based on this false declaration which even had a false thumb impression.
Mohammed Sanaullah has approached the Gauhati High court on Wednesday for justice.
His cousin, Mohammed Ajmal, who retired as a junior commissioned officer in the Army, was also served a notice by the tribunal but when he proved his citizenship the tribunal apologised. Mohammed Ajmal expressed his pain in front of the press when he said, “Is this his reward for giving 30 years of his life to the Army defending the country, including fighting in the Kargil War?”