Guwahati, March 30, 2020: Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), a human rights organisation that has worked extensively in the state of Assam to help Indian citizens defend their citizenship during and after the process to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC), now demands that the upcoming Goalpara detention camp be converted into a facility to quarantine and treat people who have contracted the dreaded coronavirus. 

It is well known that the government of Assam is looking for suitable locations for the construction of three dedicated COVID-19 treatment hospitals. The facilities have to be large enough to accommodate the large number of patients. They should also be located in places far away from densely populated areas as isolation is important to check the spread of the virus. In such a situation, the Goalpara facility will prove to be quite valuable. 

According to CJP Assam State Coordinator, Zamser Ali, “The ongoing construction of Detention Camp in Goalpara with a capacity of 3,000 inmates has garnered international reaction and national concern. If we go through the government database as per submitted in the national Parliament and the Assam Assembly from time to time, almost 98 per cent of the people living in six detention camps in Assam have no linkage with any foreign countries. Rather they were born and raised in India, and they have no place to go outside India.” 

29 people have died in various detention camps in Assam, whose remains could not be sent to any foreign country. All these 29 dead bodies were sent to their Indian relatives and their last rites were also performed on Indian soil. “If they were foreigners, out about 1300 people languishing in six detention camps in Assam, why hasn’t the government been able to send 13 persons to Bangladesh? It proves that Indian people have been harassed by dubbing them as ‘Bangladeshi’ on a large scale,” says Ali adding, “This kind of continued harassment of its own citizens will adversely impact India’s reputation internationally. So, the construction of new detention camp in Goalpara is completely unjustified and a worthless exercise.” 

The government of Assam is looking for large and isolated plots in three places in Assam. “The construction site of Goalpara detention camp is in isolated area with a capacity of treatment of approximately 10,000 patients at a time. Turning this facility into a COVID-19 quarantine and treatment center will reduce the amount of time, money or energy required for construction of a temporary or a permanent hospital as the work of boundary wall all cottages of inmates inside is almost completed.”

Therefore, we at CJP urge the government to convert the construction site of Goalpara detention camp into COVID-19 quarantine and treatment hospital with immediate effect.”

Teesta Setalvad,

Secretary, CJP

Zamser Ali
State Coordinator, CJP, Assam.

 

 
A resident of Ward Number 10 of Barpeta Road, under Barpeta District Das was declared a foreigner through an ex-parte judgment by a Foreigners Tribunal (FT) on May 20th, 2017 and subsequently lodged in the Goalpara Detention Camp.  Das, who was admitted to the Goalpara Civil Hospital, breathed his last on 6th April, 2019.
 
According to his family, Das was feeling pain in his chest after he was lodged in Goalpara Detention Camp and had complained of uneasiness on April 6th, 2019 following which he was admitted to the hospital where he breathed his last.  
 
Lashing out at the Assam government, the family members refused to take the body of deceased and perform the last rites. “If he (Amrit) was a foreigner, then the government should send his body to the place where he belonged and perform the last rites,” said one of the family member of Amrit Das. In fact, many people came out on the street to stage a demonstration demanding justice for Das.
 

 
Given how Das was a Bengali Hindu, his death is also bad news for the BJP, given how they have been trying to actively cultivate the Bengali Hindu vote bank in the region.
 
Father of two daughters and two sons, Amrit Das used to provide for his family by running a small portable snack shop. He would leave early every morning, carrying his collapsible wooden contraption upon four rickshaw wheels and set shop along the roadside, making and selling potato chops. The proceedings to clear his name took a huge toll on the family’s meagre finances.
 
After being declared a foreigner by FT at Barpeta, he was promptly detained and send to Goalpara detention camp. Then, his family challenged the order of Foreigners Tribunal before Gauhati High Court, but the order of the FT was upheld by the Gauhati High Court.
 
A Senior Advocate of Gauhati High Court, who was appearing for Amrit Das said, “The name of Birendra Das, father of Amrit Das was available in the voters list of 1961 onwards. The name of Amrit Das is available even in the present voters list. All their documents are correct as per court. But, problem is that as per voters list of 1961 and present voters list of 2016 or 2019, age difference between father and son is only 13 years.”
 

 
This clearly appears to be an error, probably made while recording, entering or updating the data. Many such errors lead to discrepancies in data reflecting on different government documents for the same person. “Due to lack of awareness and sometime due to negligence of government officials, there are numerous discrepancies in the voters list, especially with respect to spelling of names, titles, age etc. I had tried my level best to convince the fact before the court, but I failed. It is a regular happening in Assam and needs special attention to save hundreds of distressed people.”