Phalu Das (70), a man lodged in a detention camp in Goalpara district of Assam, died on Thursday due to deteriorating health.
Das, a resident of Satemari near Mukalmuwa of Nalbari district, was declared a foreigner and sent to a detention camp in 2017.
“His health has been deteriorating since the past few days,” officials in Guwahati informed.
“He was admitted to hospital on October 11 and was later referred to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) where he died during treatment,” officials added.
After his death, Das’ family has refused to accept the body.
“We were not informed about his health condition,” the family said.
They further alleged that Das was declared a foreigner despite having every document.
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“He had every document to prove his Indian identity. Even then he was declared a foreigner,” they reiterated.
“Until he is declared Indian, we are not going to accept the body,” they added.
This is the second time in October when family members have refused to take the body of their relative who died in a detention camp.
Family of Dulal Chandra Paul (65) refused to take his body after he died on October 13 at GMCH after falling ill in a detention camp where he was lodged for years.
The two back-to-back deaths of detainees have led the Assam government to constitute a special review committee to assess the conditions prevailing in the detention centres.
ALSO READ: Assam sets up panel for detention centres
The panel headed by DIG (Border) would comprise inspector general of prisons, district and session judge Hardeep Singh (Retd), one representative to be nominated by deputy commissioner of the concerned district and any other member co-opted by the chairman.