Author: Express News Service
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: August 4, 2008
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/344308.html
With the Gauhati High Court judgment of last
month rocking the state over the dangers posed by large-scale infiltration
of Bangladeshis to the state, the Assam Government is finally set to take
action.
Responding to two judgments made by Justice
B K Sharma of the Gauhati High Court, in one of which the judge pulled up
authorities for allowing a Bangladeshi national to procure an Indian passport
on the strength of documents issued by an Assam government official, Chief
Minister Tarun Gogoi issued instructions to initiate departmental proceedings
against the police official who had certified foreign national Abdul Hasim
as an Indian. He also announced the decision to set up a high-level committee
to identify the loopholes in the existing system of detection of foreigners
and to suggest remedial measures.
In one of his judgments B K Sharma had directed
the police to take custody of 49 persons, declared as foreigners by the court,
until their deportation. Now, the Chief Minister has suggested activating
police station-level committees comprising officials and leading citizens
in order to report any suspected foreign national. These committees should
meet at least once a month, he said.
