Assam: 14 declared foreigners held in Baksa, sent to Matia detention centre

Guwahati: A special team of Assam Police has arrested fourteen people in Baksa district who were declared foreigners by tribunals. The arrests were made in various parts of the district on Wednesday.

According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Ujjal Pratim Baruah, they received orders from the court to arrest these declared foreigners and acted accordingly. The arrested persons include nine women and five men.

The arrested individuals were declared foreigners by tribunals at different times. After their arrest, they were all sent to a specially built transit camp meant for declared foreigners at Matia in lower Assam’s Goalpara district.

In recent years, many Bangladeshi illegal migrants have been sent back to their country. However, none of those declared foreigners by FTs have been pushed back.

This is because Bangladesh only takes back those who entered India from their country. They never accept those who were declared Bangladeshi by Indian FTs.

In April 2020, the Supreme Court of India asked the Assam Government to release the detainees who have completed two years in detention camps on bail. Many of them were released after that.

A large detention center was opened at Matia in Goalpara district last year. Officially known as the "Matia Transit Camp," it is built on a 28,800 sq ft area. It received its first batch of foreigners on January 27 last year.

In March this year, Assam Inspector General of Prisons, Pubali Gohain, confirmed that all the inmates of the state's six detention centres have been shifted to Matia transit camp.

The inmates include illegally entered nationals of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Senegal, and many other African countries.