Mohammed Sanaullah, who had served in the Army and fought in the Kargil war, had also received a medal and letter of appreciation from none other than the then President of India for his service to the nation. But the nation was shocked when on March 2017, the Boko Foreigner’s Tribunal declared him a ‘foreigner’. He was subsequently arrested and sent to a detention camp in Goalpara. He moved the Gauhati High Court immediately
On Thursday, June 7, 2019, the Gauhati HC granted him interim bail and directed the Superintendent of Police (Border), Kamrup, to take steps to release him from the Goalpara Detention Camp subject to Mohammed Sanaullah furnishing a bail bond of Rs 20,000/- (Rupees Twenty thousand only) with two local sureties. He is also forbidden from leaving the territorial jurisdiction of Kamrup and Kamrup (Metro) regions without prior permission of the SP. He is also required to provide biometric data including iris scans of both eyes and fingerprints of both hands.
Th entire bail order by the Gauhati HC may be read here:
Who is Mohammed Sanaullah
Mohammad Sanaullah was born in 1967 in the village of Kalahikash that falls under the jurisdiction of the Boko Police Station in Kamrup district. He passed his matriculation examination in 1985. He father Mohammad Ali has land patta (document) of 1936 in the village Kalahikash along with his name recorded in the NRC, 1951, Voters List of 1966 and 1971. All these documents were submitted before the FT but overlooked.
As far as his service to the nation goes Mohammad Sanaullah served as a jawan in the Army from 1987 and was promoted to junior commissioned officer in 2012. In the year 2017, serving 30 years in Indian Air Force, Mohammad Sanaullah retired from service as an honorary Lieutenant. In the subsequent year he joined the Assam Border Police as an Assistant Sub Inspector. Interestingly, it is the Border Police that looks into cases of suspected foreigners and doubtful voters and makes a reference to the FT.
Allegations of foul play
It is alleged that an inspector of the Border Police submitted a false report that stated Khan was a daily wage labourer who was originally from Bangladesh. This was enough to get him to prove his citizenship before a Foreigners’ Tribunal.
Minor discrepancy in dates
This discrepancy is because the last two digits of the year of joining the IAF ie. 1987 were switched accidentally and read 1978 when recorded during FT proceedings, thus making it appear as if Mohammed Sanaullah joined the defence forces at the age of 11!
“During one of the hearings, he had mistakenly mentioned the year of his joining the Army as 1978 and based on the gaffe, the Foreigners’ Tribunal declared him a foreigner. It argued that nobody can join the Army at the age of 11 years,” Hoque told The New Indian Express.
This also made it appear as if his siblings’ ages are different i.e one younger sister appears older and an elder brother appears younger than Mohammad Sanaullah. This is clearly a small and genuine error. But the FT refused to consider it and ruled that the siblings were ‘projected’ as brother and sister. They then declared him as Bangladeshi and the police called on him to police station on May 29. When he rushed to the police station he was arrested and promptly sent to the Goalpara detention camp.