GUWAHATI, 25 May: Scores of people were picked up from across Assam on Sunday on suspicion of being ‘doubtful citizens’, officials said, adding that their documents are being verified.
The operation was based on a central directive to act against Bangladeshi citizens who are staying in India illegally, they said.
“Accordingly, we launched the operation. Scores of people have been picked up and their documents are being checked,” an official at the Assam police headquarters told PTI on condition of anonymity.
He declined to share details such as the total number of people held, stating that the operation is ongoing.
Around 150 people were picked up from various locations of the Kamrup metropolitan district since Saturday night, a source in the Guwahati police said.
“They have been kept at Rupnagar police reserve and their papers are being checked,” he said.
Many people who were declared as ‘foreigners’ by the legal system have been absconding, and they are being tracked at present, officials said.
“Besides that, many suspected foreigners are also living in the state. We are trying to locate them in this operation,” another official said.
The entire operation is being carried out under the supervision of the Assam Police Border Organisation, headed by an inspector general rank officer.
On Saturday, nine Bangladeshis staying illegally in India were arrested in Morigaon district. All of them had been declared foreign nationals by the Foreigners Tribunals but had been evading arrest.
“The declared foreigners will be sent to the detention centre, now called a transit camp, in Goalpara after verification of their documents. The process is on,” an official said. (PTI)
