This is the story of Mr. Chandradhar Das, 102, who was one of 109 men and women lodged in Silchar Central Jail as declared foreign nationals to be deported.
Back in 25 March 1971, this man was wrongly arrested. The State’s Border Police had suspected him to be a Bangladeshi and referred his case to the Foreigners’ Tribunal 6 which asked him to furnish documents to prove his nationality. The case had gone against him “ex parte” because FT-6 did not have a government pleader for months.
In its order on January 2, the tribunal said it had given enough opportunities to Mr. Das to prove that he is not a foreigner”.
Last wee, Unconditional Citizenship Demand Forum, a Silchar-based group, took up Mr. Das’s case. They brought the case to the attention of the FT-6 member. He understood the sensitivity of the case and granted bail on humanitarian grounds as well as on legal count because the tribunal did not have a government pleader for a long time.
Mr. Das was taken to the hospital immediately after his release and provided treatment. He was discharged on Thursday morning.
His daughter said she could not understand why her father was declared foreigner despite possessing a citizenship certificate issued in 1966 from Agartala in adjoining Tripura.

Follow Manipuri News at twitter for more news updates – https://twitter.com/ManipuriNews