Guwahati: A month after a retired Army Officer was branded as Bangladeshi by the Assam Police, a Muslim retired Army havaldar and his wife have been sent a notice directing him to prove his Indian citizenship.
Mahiruddin Ahmed, who served in the Indian Army from 1986 to 2004, has been served a notice from the Foreigners Tribunal in Barpetta, Assam. The Tribunal has asked him to appear on November 6 with the proof of citizenship.
Mahiruddin’s elder brother is a retired Assistant Sessions Judge and his younger brother works with government owned telecom company BSNL.
Mahiruddin’s wife Husani Ara has also been asked to prove her citizenship. This despite the fact that her father’s name appeared in the voters’ list of 1966, while the cutoff year under the Assam Accord is 1971.
As reported by News18, Mahiruddin’s lawyer Mustafa Khaddam is planning to approach the welfare division of Army for relief.
Khaddam, who has handled a number of such cases, said, “The root cause of the problem was police action without preliminary verification or investigation.”
DGP Mukesh Sahay said the SP of Barpeta has been asked to conduct an inquiry into the matter and send a report to the DGP's office.
Mahiruddin received the notice a month after Mohammad Ajmal Haque, who had served in Indian Army for thirty long years, was branded Bangladeshi migrant and a case was also filed against him.
Illegal immigration from Bangladesh is an emotive issue in Assam. As per the 1985 Assam Accord, 25 March, 1971 is the cut off date for detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshis.
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