The All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU) has requested the intervention of Haryana chief minister for the safe release of at least 65 “genuine Indian citizens” from Assam detained by Haryana police on the “false assumption and
accusation” that they are “illegal foreigners”.

AAMSU president Rejaul Karim Sarkar said they have written to both Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over the “arbitrary detention” in Haryana.

“There are at least 65 such detainees from the five Assam districts — Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Goalpara, Dhubri and Mankachar. They were working in Haryana as labourers. They are being kept there in community centres,” Karim said.

All five districts have significant Bengali-speaking Muslim populations.

In the memorandum to Haryana chief minister on Monday, the AAMSU, a leading student body of the minorities in the state, drew attention to the detention of “genuine Indian citizens possessing valid Indian documents such as voter ID cards, Aadhaar cards etc and their names being enlisted in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) belonging from the State of Assam. They have been residing in Haryana for livelihood.”

“They are mostly engaged in petty businesses, daily wage labourers, etc. Unfortunately, these poor Indian citizens who belong mostly from Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Mankachar, Goalpara and Barpeta districts of Assam are being detained by the police at Sectors 4 and 5 (Sitla Mata Mandir), Sectors 9 and 10 (Basai Gaon), Sector 70 (Badshahpur), Sector 91 (Manesar) etc of Gurugram City under the false assumption and accusation that they are foreigners.”

“They are deprived of basic necessities and are being harassed by the local police as per the reports obtained from various sources,” the memorandum further said, seeking Saini’s direction to “the concerned authorities to immediately release such detained Indian citizens who possess valid Indian documents”.