Paralysis robbed Azizul Hoque of his ability to work, before the system, members of his family said, snatched his identity as an Indian more than two years ago.
They are now counting the days for the next hearing in the Supreme Court, which sought replies from the Centre and the Assam government on how the 41-year-old Hoque came to be declared a foreigner and lodged in a detention centre on March 24, 2017.
Family hopeful
Anas Tanwir, handling the case, said the apex court on July 3 given the Central and Assam governments two weeks to reply.
“That means they have to reply by July 17, right? And we can hope for a hearing by the Supreme Court soon after,” Baharul Islam, Mr. Hoque’s elder brother, told The Hindu from their village Singiapathar in central Assam’s Nagaon district. The village is about 140 km east of Guwahati.
Mr. Islam, in his late 40s, could not recall when the Assam police’s border wing sent a notice to his brother. The border wing is tasked with detecting and deporting foreigners and refers cases to a Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) for deciding a suspect’s fate.
“It was 12-13 years ago. He went to the police when summoned about 10 years ago before an illness made him paralysed. He had always been a bhodai(dimwitted) and paralysis prevented him from going out to work,” said Mr. Islam, who sells vegetables in a nearby town.