A 60-year-old man has allegedly died by suicide in the Morigaon district of Assam. He was fighting a case to prove his nationality at the Foreigners Tribunal despite his name being included in the Assam NRC. The family has claimed Das died by suicide due to the "impact of being branded as a Bangladeshi" and that "frustration and mental torture" forced him to end his life.
Manik Das was a resident of Borkhal village near Jagi Road and had a small business at the Jagi Road dry fish market in Morigaon district.
What Does Family Have To Say?
Kartik Das, son of the deceased, questioned the use of performing the NRC. He says that the notice was sent to his father after the NRC was published with their family members' names. Even after that, police sent a notice to his father and filed a case. The entire process led to frustration and mental torture.
He further said, "If those who made it to Assam NRC are considered as foreigners or Bangladeshi, then what is the use of conducting NRC" reported NDTV.
Police's Take
Aparna Natarajan, Morigaon Superintendent of Police, says that the family filed a missing case at the Jagi Road police station on January 30, and the body was recovered on January 31. "We have registered an unnatural death case and have not found any suicide note. We are investigating the case", said Natarajan.
All Legal Documents Available
Manik Das had all valid legal identity documents like PAN card, Aadhaar card and land records, says Deepak Biswas, legal counsel of Das. He further stated, "We had submitted our reply at the tribunal and would have been able to prove that he is a bonafide Indian."
What Is NRC?
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is the register that contains all the information of all Indian citizens. After the 1951 census, the NRC was prepared by recording particulars of all the persons counted during the 1951 census.
After conducting the 1951 census, NRC was prepared in respect of each village that showed the houses/holdings and against each house/holding; the number and names of the persons staying, father's name/mother's name, nationality, age, sex, marital status, occupational etc. were mentioned.
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