AUGUST 4, 2019 • THE WEEK 31ment 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 Moham-
mad 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, teach-ers 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 infor-
mation from the state’s intelligence
department. We inspect documents
and refer cases. The NRC depart-
ment then does legacy matching,
based on which the tribunal gives
its order.Rights activists say what is happen-
ing 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 citizen-
ship. 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 num-
ber of deportations.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 govern-