Following the death of a sexagenarian “declared foreigner” Jabbar Ali at a detention camp in Tezpur, his family stares at a uncertain future with his son, wife and younger brother scrambling to prove that Jabbar was not a foreigner.

Jabbar’s wife Saimon Nessa, 50, his son Jehar Ali, 32, and younger brother Naqbar Ali, 50, have all been labelled doubtful voters. Only the name of Jabbar’s younger son Shahjahan Ali, 20, figures in the new voter list.

With Jabbar’s funeral already conducted amid bitter resentment towards the authorities who kept the 65-year-old at the detention camp for three years, Jabbar’s lawyer M.U. Mahmud has filed a review petition in Gauhati High Court.

The hearing will take place on October 12.

Both the lawyer and Jabbar’s family alleged that Assam police failed to serve Jabbar a notice and now the fight is on to prove that the police have lied that they had served a notice.

They also alleged that the previous lawyer who was handling the case for Jabbar was not even sure whether he would be relieved from the “declared foreigner” status.

“The case was not properly conducted at Gauhati High Court and found not feasible. He was not served with a notice as claimed by Assam police. In the review petition, I have clearly stated that no notice was served and Assam police are lying. Jabbar did not get a chance to prove whether he is Indian or Bangladeshi. We want a forensic examination of Jabbar’s thumb impression taken by the police,” said Mahmud.

Among the documents that Jabbar had in his possession was a 1951 NRC legacy along with a voter list dating back to the sixties. But despite that he was declared a foreigner by a tribunal in Darrang district.

Jabbar hailed from a village in Dhansrikhuti under Rowta police station in Udalguri district. He was a daily wage labourer and too poor to fight a legal battle against the authorities.

“This has been quite a harrowing time for us. The previous lawyer exploited us. Since his death politicians and VIPs have been visiting us. We had already paid Rs 20,000 to the previous lawyer. He was asking for another 20,000. This is injustice,” said Jehar Ali, who works in a local brick kiln.

His uncle, Naqbar Ali, echoed him. “We are all D-voters. We don’t have too many options left. But we hope authorities will recognise us as Indians.”

According to Jabbar’s family, he was suffering from age-related ailments. He passed away on Wednesday night after his condition deteriorated. He was admitted to a civil hospital in Tezpur.

“Jabbar’s father had five sons. Of them, three have been included in the NRC. We had demanded that if he was a foreigner his body should have been buried in Bangladesh,” said Azad Ali, Jabbar’s neighbour.

There are allegations that the authorities pick up names in a random manner to label them “doubtful” without any investigation. “It has been observed that the police act in an arbitrary manner. At times no notices are served and if it is served it is not done properly. Jabbar’s case is a breach of fundamental rights,” said Debasmita Ghosh of Human Rights Law Network.