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http://en.banglatribune.com/country/news/69921/Sylhet-border-on-alert-after-NRC-publication
The Sylhet borders are on high alert after India published the final National Register of Citizens (NRC), stripping 1.9 million people of citizenship.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) along with the police have beefed up surveillance at the border areas.
Sylhet-based BGB-19 chief Syed Hossain said that they are prepared to tackle any untoward incident at the border.
“Although the list is for Assam, all the borders under battalion-19 have been instructed to remain on high alert. The locals of those areas have also been notified,” he said.
“BGB has been asked to be more vigilant keeping Assam in mind. We are also monitoring whether the situation deteriorates at Assam,” he added.
Saying that they are prepared to tackle any Indian citizen trying to illegally push-in through the border, he added that the locals have been instructed to inform BGB if they see any activity from India’s Border Security Force or Indians.
Meanwhile, Sylhet district Superintendant of Police Mohammad Farid Uddin said that BGB usually always remains alert at the border areas.
“India’s Assam issue isn’t likely to affect the Sylhet border areas but the police are still alert,” he said.
Sylhet Deputy Commissioner M Kazi Emdadul Islam declined to comment saying that it was a state issue.
On Saturday (Aug 31), India published the final National Register of Citizens (NRC), a list of genuine citizens in the state of Assam, excluding 1.9 million people amid fears they could be rendered stateless.
Last July more than four million people in the north-eastern state were excluded from the final draft list of citizens published by the Registrar General of India.
India's home ministry has said people whose names don't appear in the final NRC cannot be declared foreigners till all legal options are exhausted.
Every person left out of the NRC can appeal to the Foreigners Tribunal, and the time limit to file the appeal has been extended from 60 to 120 days.
The home ministry said at least 1,000 tribunals will be set up in phases to hear disputes; 100 tribunals are already open and 200 more will be set up in the first week of September.
If one loses the case in the tribunal, one can approach the high court and then the Supreme Court.
No one will be put in detention centres until all legal options are exhausted, the government has said.
Prior to the publication of the final NRC, there was speculation that the number of excluded would vary from a minimum of 1-1.2 million to a maximum of 2.0-2.2 million — roughly half of the 4.1 million put on two exclusion lists on Jul 30, 2018, and Jun 26 this year.
Critics accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party of stoking the sentiment against illegal immigrants and misusing the register to target even legal Muslim citizens.
His close aide, Home Minister Amit Shah, has previously vowed to weed out illegal immigrants, calling them “termites”.
Officials in Assam say they do not know what will eventually be done with those finally adjudged foreigners. Bangladesh has not committed to accepting them. More than 1,000 people are being held in Assam’s six detention centres for illegal immigrants and the state government has said it seeks to set up more centres. Human rights activists have criticized conditions at the centres, and lawyers and activists have outlined problems with the functioning of the foreigners’ tribunals.
The Sylhet borders are on high alert after India published the final National Register of Citizens (NRC), stripping 1.9 million people of citizenship.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) along with the police have beefed up surveillance at the border areas.
Sylhet-based BGB-19 chief Syed Hossain said that they are prepared to tackle any untoward incident at the border.
“Although the list is for Assam, all the borders under battalion-19 have been instructed to remain on high alert. The locals of those areas have also been notified,” he said.
“BGB has been asked to be more vigilant keeping Assam in mind. We are also monitoring whether the situation deteriorates at Assam,” he added.
Saying that they are prepared to tackle any Indian citizen trying to illegally push-in through the border, he added that the locals have been instructed to inform BGB if they see any activity from India’s Border Security Force or Indians.
Meanwhile, Sylhet district Superintendant of Police Mohammad Farid Uddin said that BGB usually always remains alert at the border areas.
“India’s Assam issue isn’t likely to affect the Sylhet border areas but the police are still alert,” he said.
Sylhet Deputy Commissioner M Kazi Emdadul Islam declined to comment saying that it was a state issue.
On Saturday (Aug 31), India published the final National Register of Citizens (NRC), a list of genuine citizens in the state of Assam, excluding 1.9 million people amid fears they could be rendered stateless.
Last July more than four million people in the north-eastern state were excluded from the final draft list of citizens published by the Registrar General of India.
India's home ministry has said people whose names don't appear in the final NRC cannot be declared foreigners till all legal options are exhausted.
Every person left out of the NRC can appeal to the Foreigners Tribunal, and the time limit to file the appeal has been extended from 60 to 120 days.
The home ministry said at least 1,000 tribunals will be set up in phases to hear disputes; 100 tribunals are already open and 200 more will be set up in the first week of September.
If one loses the case in the tribunal, one can approach the high court and then the Supreme Court.
No one will be put in detention centres until all legal options are exhausted, the government has said.
Prior to the publication of the final NRC, there was speculation that the number of excluded would vary from a minimum of 1-1.2 million to a maximum of 2.0-2.2 million — roughly half of the 4.1 million put on two exclusion lists on Jul 30, 2018, and Jun 26 this year.
Critics accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party of stoking the sentiment against illegal immigrants and misusing the register to target even legal Muslim citizens.
His close aide, Home Minister Amit Shah, has previously vowed to weed out illegal immigrants, calling them “termites”.
Officials in Assam say they do not know what will eventually be done with those finally adjudged foreigners. Bangladesh has not committed to accepting them. More than 1,000 people are being held in Assam’s six detention centres for illegal immigrants and the state government has said it seeks to set up more centres. Human rights activists have criticized conditions at the centres, and lawyers and activists have outlined problems with the functioning of the foreigners’ tribunals.
