Retired soldier was declared foreigner on basis of 'fake investigation'
Mohammad Sanaulla, a retired soldier who served in the Indian Army for 30 years, was last week declared a "foreigner". This peculiar case raised questions about the NRC process so much so that the Supreme Court asked officials to remain careful. Now, it has been learned that the report, on the basis of which Sanaulla was labeled an illegal immigrant, was allegedly fake.
Sanaulla retired after serving in J&K and Northeast
52-year-old Sanaulla retired as a Subedar with the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) in August 2017. During his tenure, he participated in counter-surgency operations in J&K and Northeast. He later joined the border wing of Assam police. In 2008-09, Sanaulla was "investigated" as a suspected illegal immigrant. The border police had put a "reference" case against him at Foreigners Tribunal (FT).
Sanaulla was asked to prove his citizenship, he lost case
While illegal immigrants have remained a hot topic in Northeast, the issue gained momentum last year after National Register of Citizens (NRC) published its first updated list. Since Sanaulla's name was highlighted by border police, he was also asked to prove his Indian citizenship. He lost the case on May 23, and five days later he was put in a detention center.
SI claimed he spoke to witnesses, they rubbished his theory
As Sanaulla's case gained attention, new details came to light. Apparently, Chandramal Das, sub-inspector at Assam police, who investigated Sanaulla filed a fake report. According to IE, Das mentioned that he spoke to three people in Kalahikash village to understand Sanaulla's citizenship. And now the three witnesses have said they didn't say anything about Sanaulla's citizenship. Notably, an FIR has been registered against Das.
Never met anyone for an investigation, said one witness
The three witnesses, who were identified as Amjad Ali, Kuran Ali, and Sobahan Ali, claimed their signatures were forged. "I had never met that police officer nor was called for an investigation. In 2008-09, I was not even in my village. I was in Guwahati, working with the government. Even Sanaulla was not here. He was with Army," Kuran Ali said.
Strangely, Sanaulla's profession was changed from Army man to laborer
There are other glaring discrepancies in Das' report. For one, he wrote Sanaulla was a laborer and not from Army. Secondly, Das claimed Sanaulla "confessed" he was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. "I was born at village Kasimpur of Dhaka district in Bangladesh. I do not remember the name of the police station. I am an illiterate person," the alleged confession read.
Meanwhile, Das admitted there has been a gaffe
Das, who is now retired said that the person who was sent to a detention center isn't the one whom he interrogated. "The report was written by me, in my hand-writing. The Sanaulla whose thumb impression I had taken is not this Sanaulla," he said on Friday. Unfortunately, Sanaulla is languishing at a detention center while his family is going from pillar to post.
