Woman declared foreigner and detained in Assam for 2 years now an Indian citizen
Das is the first person in Assam who was declared a foreigner, lodged in a detention centre, released on bail and later received Indian citizenship under the CAA.
A woman who spent two years in detention after being declared a foreigner has been granted Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam's Cachar district.
The woman, identified as 59-year-old Depali Das, is a resident of the Hawaithang area under the Dholai assembly constituency of Cachar district. She was declared an illegal migrant by a Foreigners' Tribunal in February 2019, a PTI report from Guwahati said.
Das is the first person in Assam who was declared a foreigner, lodged in a detention centre, released on bail and later received Indian citizenship under the CAA.
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Following the tribunal's order, police detained her and sent her to the Silchar detention centre on 10 May 2019, said her lawyer Dharmananda Deb. She remained there for nearly two years before being released on bail on 17 May 2021 following a Supreme Court order.
According to Deb, Das was originally a resident of Dippur village under Dhirai police station in Bangladesh's Sylhet. She married Abhimanyu Das of Parai village in Habiganj district in 1987.
In 1988, the couple entered India and moved to Cachar, where they settled and have been living since.
After her release on bail in 2021, Depali wanted to apply for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act enacted by parliament.
The law allows Indian citizenship for minority community members from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered India till 2014 following religious persecution.
Once the rules were framed, Das approached Deb for legal assistance, and the process of applying for citizenship began.
According to social activist Kamal Chakraborty, Depali Das's first hearing took place on 24 February last year at the office of the Superintendent of Post Offices in Silchar, which is the designated authority to process such applications.
Two more hearings were held subsequently, after which all her documents were submitted online to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.
