The Foreigners Tribunal No. 2 in Assam’s Bongaigaon district on Tuesday dropped a case against one Akbar Ali, who was served a second notice for being a foreigner by the border police.
The second notice to Ali was served by the border branch of the Bongaigaon police.
According to sources, Ali had passed three years in the detention camp after being declared a foreigner in a case lodged against him.
He was recently released from the Goalpara detention camp.
The FT member, Eva Kakoti, dropped the case after giving a verdict on Tuesday as the SP office itself pleaded for dropping it.
Also read: Foreigners Tribunals wreaking havoc in Assam: Amnesty International
“SP (B) of Bongaigaon praying for drop the present case number 192/2019,” the verdict mentioned.
Earlier, Akbar Ali fought a foreigner’s case (Case No. 1432/2007) in the same tribunal which was adjudicated on December 31, 2015, declaring him a foreigner post-1971.
Later, he was lodged inside the Goalpara detention camp.
He was released on bail on November 21 last year, but within a week, he was served a foreigner’s notice afresh from the SP office.
“I am feeling relieved at this verdict. However, I have all the documents and I am not a foreigner,” said Akbar Ali while interacting with the media persons.
Monowar Hussain, a Jogighopa-based youth and social worker, said, “The issue of tagging a person as a foreigner is a very serious one.”
“One loses everything while fighting cases in courts to establish themselves as Indians. Therefore, we pray before every stakeholder to maintain extreme cautiousness in dealing with these cases,” he added.
The first FT case pushed Akbar Ali’s family to unprecedented poverty due to which his children had to leave school education.
One of his sons had to get himself engaged as a cart puller (thelawala) to support his family in his father’s absence, said sources.