'Remove yourself from India within 24 hours': Assam tells 5 women 'declared foreigners'

Guwahati: Five women, who were declared foreigners by a tribunal in North Assam's Sonitpur district in October this year, have been asked to "remove" themselves from India within 24-hours. 

However, the five, who lived at Dhobokata village, according to officials, have been "absconding" since separate cases were registered against them by the border branch of the state police in March 2006, suspecting them to be foreigners. The Foreigner Tribunals had issued ex-parte orders against them as they did not turn up to defend themselves, officials said. 

The women, identified as Hanufa, Mariyam Nessa, Fatema, Monowara and Amjad, belong to Bengali-speaking Muslim, whom ruling BJP considers as infiltrators and a threat to identity of the state's indigenous people. 

The order issued by Ananda Kumar Das, the district commissioners of Sonitpur on Wednesday said the action has been taken against them as per provisions under Section 2 of Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act 1950 and the authority issued by Assam government.

"Being a declared foreigner, your presence in India/Assam is detrimental to the interest of the general public and also for the internal security of the state," said the orders issued separately against the five.

Action under new SOPs: 

This came after Assam Cabinet in September approved a Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to use the 1950 Act to "swiftly evacuate" the post-1971 migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The 1950 Act was enforced following large scale immigration from erstwhile East Pakistan (present Bangladesh), following the Partition. But the governments later enacted other rules following allegations of harassment under the 1950 Act.

The order further asked the five to "remove" themselves through Dhubri/Sribhumi/South Salmara/Mankachar routes. These districts share borders with Bangladesh. 

"In case of default in complying with this order, government would be compelled to take appropriate action to remove you from the territory of Assam," said the orders.

The Opposition Congress and AIUDF, however, said the BJP--led government was taking such steps as part of its polarisation tactics in the run up to Assembly elections slated early next year.