NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Saturday a new set of measures to intensify the detection and prevention of illegal immigration through the state’s international borders. Sarma expressed concerns over Aadhaar card issuance, noting that more Aadhaar cards have been issued than the population in Dhubri district, raising the possibility that some suspected individuals received Aadhaar cards.
Sarma highlighting concerns regarding Aadhaar card issuance said, “Aadhaar cards have been issued to more people than the population in Dhubri district. It is possible that some suspected individuals received Aadhaar cards. Therefore, the Assam Government will issue a notification in the next 10 days stating that if one does not apply for NRC, they will not receive an Aadhaar card in the new process. This notification will not apply to tea garden areas. From October 1, adults in other districts will need to undergo a stricter process.”
CM Sarma said, “The detection process of foreigners was almost halted after the NRC update. ” He added “In recent months, we have either arrested or pushed back 20-30 Bangladeshi nationals. Today, we have issued orders to intensify the detection of illegal immigrants in Assam. We have published detailed guidelines to strengthen this process.”The key directives include:
Sarma highlighting concerns regarding Aadhaar card issuance said, “Aadhaar cards have been issued to more people than the population in Dhubri district. It is possible that some suspected individuals received Aadhaar cards. Therefore, the Assam Government will issue a notification in the next 10 days stating that if one does not apply for NRC, they will not receive an Aadhaar card in the new process. This notification will not apply to tea garden areas. From October 1, adults in other districts will need to undergo a stricter process.”
CM Sarma said, “The detection process of foreigners was almost halted after the NRC update. ” He added “In recent months, we have either arrested or pushed back 20-30 Bangladeshi nationals. Today, we have issued orders to intensify the detection of illegal immigrants in Assam. We have published detailed guidelines to strengthen this process.”
Since January 2024, Assam has identified 54 illegal immigrants: 48 in Karimganj district, 4 in Bongaigaon district, and one each in Haflong GRP and Dhubri district. Of these, 45 individuals have been deported, while nine were arrested in Karimganj. Reports have also indicated the presence of suspected non-Indian nationals in Upper Assam and North Assam districts, raising national security concerns.
Meanwhile, the Assam government in a detailed order directed the Assam Police Border Organization to take all necessary preventive and precautionary measures to intensify detection and proactively curb the movement of illegal migrants.
The key directives include:
- Enhanced Border Surveillance: Increase patrolling and monitoring at Border Outposts to prevent unauthorized border crossings.
- Strengthened coordination: Improve collaboration with the
Border Security Force (BSF) and other central agencies to facilitate better information sharing and joint operations. Regular meetings between the Director General of Police (DGP), Assam, and the Director General of BSF will be scheduled for effective coordination. - Intensified intelligence gathering: Boost intelligence efforts focusing on cross-border networks and infiltration routes. Deploy trained personnel to gather and process actionable intelligence.
- Community engagement: Launch awareness programs in border areas to encourage local residents to report suspicious activities or new settlers, aiding early detection of potential illegal immigrants.
- Prompt legal action: Ensure all identified cases of illegal immigrants are documented and forwarded to the Foreigners Tribunals for adjudication.
- Additional forces in border districts: Deploy extra forces in border districts based on ground-level assessments to support Border Police. Superintendents of Police (SPs) will review current resources and seek additional support from the Assam Police Headquarters (APHQ) if necessary.
- Strengthened documentation checks: Intensify checks in Border Outpost areas to identify individuals lacking valid identification. Regularly verify records to prevent evasion of detection.
- Enumeration of suspected immigrants: Activate village and field-level officials to gather information on new and unknown individuals of suspected nationality. Conduct enumerations in collaboration with Assam Police (HQ), District Administration, and District Police.
- Apprehension of absconding individuals: Focus on locating and apprehending individuals who have absconded after being declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals or Illegal Migrants Determination Tribunals.
- Biometric and identification data collection: Collect biometrics of suspected individuals and record details from Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, Voter IDs, or passports if available.
- Enforcement of Citizenship amendment act: Ensure compliance with the State Government’s instructions on detecting illegal foreigners as per the Citizenship Amendment Act.
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