It is being alleged that the border police has made a mess of the process for finalising the National Register of Citizens?
No, [the process] has been going on for several decades. Things took a big turn in 2005, when a five-judge bench called the influx from Bangladesh as an invasion and silent aggression that could not only upset the state’s population balance, but also change its sociology. There is no way we could have sat and relaxed after such a historic verdict. The Supreme Court ruled that, based on the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, we needed to [track] suspects and submit reports to the foreigners’ tribunal.
People say they are being harassed even if they have all documents.
The law is clear. The border police can check the papers of any suspect. If the documents don’t match, the matter is referred to the tribunal. The border police don’t do anything more. The arrests of people declared as foreigners by the tribunal are done by the regular police, and not by my department. Now, the interesting thing is, no one admits that he or she is a foreigner. So my officers have to suspect all.
But people say their cases are referred to the tribunal even if they submit valid documents.
Do you know that fudged documents are rampant? There is a father-renting syndicate in Assam. Many people ‘buy’ fathers, along with birth, education and school-leaving certificates. They fail to do that in a clinical way, which is why they are caught.
So people forge documents?
I won’t say all. I will help all rights activists, who are protesting the NRC, to help these poor people come up with genuine papers rather than fake ones. In many cases, we have found that the father is younger than the son. How would you explain this?
How many fresh cases have you registered recently?
Not a single case. All cases have been going on for the past one decade or more. In the past one year, not a single case has been referred to the tribunal.
Is biometric data of suspects taken?
As of now, it is done in cases that have been referred to the tribunal. But I have requested the government to do so only after a person is declared a foreigner.
Have all 40 lakh people who were left out of the draft NRC filed their citizenship claims?
No, 3.8 lakh people have not filed their claims or objections. We are trying to find them, to know why they did not file claims. I know there are a few people who might be dead. But what about the rest?
People across India protested the arrest of Army veteran Mohammad Sanaullah. Was the arrest a mistake?
It is for the tribunal to decide. They have declared him a foreigner.
If he is a Bangladeshi, how did he become part of your department?
See, this is an old case. Unlike in IPC (Indian Penal Code) cases, these cases are not criminal in nature. His case is still in court. Let us wait for the final result.
The witnesses in the case have moved court saying they did not say Sanaullah was a Bangladeshi.
That is for the court to decide. I can only say that witnesses always make U-turns.
Do you feel that the border police committed a mistake by referring an Army veteran to the foreigners’ tribunal?
First, the case is old. I was not here then and I would not be able to tell. Second, the border police can suspect everyone. Onus would be on the person to prove his or her citizenship. No arrest is done before the person is declared a foreigner. Cases are going on against people from all walks of life, not just the Army alone.
Who are they?
They are from the Army, our state police, central armed police, teachers and even journalists. Everybody is under the scanner and we all have to prove that we are citizens.
How do you decide whether a person is a suspect?
Based on surveys and intelligence reports. We also get a lot of information from the state’s intelligence department. We inspect documents and refer cases. The NRC department then does legacy matching, based on which the tribunal gives its order.
Rights activists say what is happening in Assam is the worst human rights violation in the world.
I would ask the activists to not give lectures; [they should] help people come up with correct documents. I have already created special redress cells in my office and elsewhere. The people are poor and they need help. But, unfortunately, activists don’t come to help these people. They take money from people in the name of help, but don’t help them. My department is going out of its way to help people establish their citizenship. We are trying to show a very humane face.
I travelled across the state and found that people are angry. Many fear that there would be an armed struggle if a large number of people don’t make it to the final list.
We won’t let the situation go that way. I can assure you that the Assam Police is very efficient in tackling armed struggles. We have proven that in the past.
How many people have been pushed back to Bangladesh of late?
[There are] no push-backs. Last year, more than 100 people were deported and the Bangladesh government accepted them. The number in the previous 10 years was just around 70. Last year has seen the largest number of deportations.