27 deaths later, it’s time to wake up Assam and the detention camps menace claims 27 lives till date
04, Nov 2019 | Sanchita Kadam
The detention camps in Assam are in 6 locations and are housed in makeshift facilities in District Jails. In the past 9 years, 27 deaths have taken place of detainees in Assam.
CJP had first accessed a list of the all those who have died in Assam’s dreaded detention camps. In this list published as far back as July 2019 we discovered that Goalpara detention camp has proved to be the deadliest and leads the list with ten dead inmates. The Tezpur facility follows closely with nine dead inmates. Meanwhile, three people died in at the Silchar detention camp in Cachar district, two people including one woman died in the Kokrajhar detention camp, and one person died in the Jorhat detention camp. The dead include 14 Muslims, 10 Hindus and one member of the Tea Tribes.
In a shocking revelation before the Assam state assembly, the state government has admitted that 25 people have died while incarcerated in the state’s six detention camps. The state claims they all died “due to illness”.
The above include Subrata De, Jobbar Ali and Amrit Das, three men whose heart-breaking stories we have brought you earlier. Interestingly, both De and Ali died under mysterious circumstances and both their families suspect foul play. The authorities claim that all the deaths have taken place “due to illness”.
As of now, Assam has six detention camps. These operate out of makeshift facilities in prison compounds located in Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Silchar, Jorhat, Tezpur and Dibrugarh. There are also reports that new facilities have been planned in other parts of the state.
CJP has been at the forefront of bringing justice to the hapless victims of the citizen’s crisis in Assam. Be it in assisting hundreds of thousands of families navigate the complicated NRC process, filling in forms at Assam’s Nagrik Seva Kendras (NSKs), counselling people against despair and depression, navigating the dreaded Foreigners Tribunals, CJP’s Team Assam has been at the forefront. It is your support that makes this possible. Help us Help Assam. Donate here.
Here is a Tribute to the Lives Lost in the Detention Camps. CJP has also made a powerful film on the subject. Behind Shadows: Tales of Injustice from Assam’s Detention camps
2011
- Nazrul Islam, the youngest victim of detention camps was Nazrul Islam; a 45 days old infant who died in a camp in Kokrajhar in 2011, after his mother, Sahida Bibi was detained.
2016
- Bhulu Sadakar, aged 68 years, resident of Hailakandi died in a detention camp in Cachar on March 17, 2016 after having spent about 5 months in detention.
- Amir Ali, resident of Barpeta, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on May 24, 2016 after having spent a day in detention.
- Dulal Miya, aged 35 years, resident of Samarganj, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on June 16, 2016 after having spent about 4 days in detention.
- Prabha Roy, aged 70, a resident of Barpeta died in a detention camp in Kokrajhar on September 29, 2016 after having been detained for about 9 months.
2017
- Santosh Biswas, aged 75 years, resident of Nagaon, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on March 2, 2017, after having spent about 1.5 years in detention.
- Abdul Kuddus Ali, aged 60 years, resident of Lakhimpur, died in a detention camp in Tezpur on July 16, 2017 after having spent about 2 years in detention.
- Hussain Ali, aged 45, resident of Sonitpur, died in a detention camp in Tezpur on August 28, 2017 after having spent about a year in detention.
- Kabutar Basfor, aged 65 years, resident of Sonitpur died in a detention camp in Tezpur on September 6, 2017 after having spent about 2 years in detention.
- Abu Shahid, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on October 22, 2017 after having spent only 7 months in detention.
- Tazimuddin, resident of Lakhimpur, died in a detention camp in Tezpur on October 30, 2017 after having spent about a year in detention.
- Rashid Ali, aged 86 years, resident of Golaghat, died in a detention camp in Jorhat on November 22, 2017 after having spent about 2 years in detention.
2018
- Sundar Moni Roy, aged 75 years, resident of Hailankandi, died in a detention camp in Cachar on March 4, 2018 after having spent about 1.5 years in detention.
- Subrata Dey, aged 37, resident of Goalpara, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on May 26, 2018 after having spent barely 2 months in detention. His father as well as his grandparents’ names were in the NRC list of 1951 and yet he was declared foreigner. His mother had visited him in the detention camp 2 days before his death and he had not complained of any health problems, yet he died “due to illness”.
- Nagen Das, resident of Myamansingh (Bangladesh) died in a detention camp in Tezpur on June 1, 2018 after having spent about 2 years in detention.
- Siddique Ali, aged 65, resident of Kamrup, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on June 26, 2018 after having spent barely a month in detention.
- Jabbar Ali, resident of Udalguri, died in a detention camp in Tezpur on October 4, 2018 after having spent about a year in detention. Despite of having all valid documents he was declared foreigner and his elder son Jahar Ali has been declared Indian by the Foreigners’ Tribunal and ironically enough, because of his father’s and grandfather’s documents.
- Khakan Mandal, aged 68 years, resident of Chirang, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on October 8, 2018 after having spent about 1.5 years in detention.
- Sashi Mohan Sarkar, aged 85 years, resident of Chirang, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on December 9, 2018 after having spent about 1.5 years in detention after being declared a foreigner. His son, Sanjit Sarkar, exactly a day after Sashi Mohan’s death, was declared to be an Indian, born to Indian parents.
2019
- Jakir Hussain, aged 41 years, resident of Sonitpur, died in a detention camp in Tezpur on January 25, 2019 after having spent about 2.5 years in detention.
- Ismail Ali Talukdar, resident of Dima Hasao, died in a detention camp in Cachar on March 30, 2019 after having spent about 2.5 years in detention camp.
- Amrit Das, aged 67 years, resident of Barpeta, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on April 6, 2019 after having spent about 2 years in detention. He had complained of chest pain and passed away after been taken to the hospital. His family had refused to accept his body at first, there were also street protests demanding justice for Amrit Das.
- Basudev Biswas, aged 55 years, resident of Sirajganj (Bangladesh), died in a detention camp in Tezpur on May 11, 2019 after having spent about 4 years in detention.
- Suruj Ali, agreed 70 years, resident of Nagaon, died in a detention camp in Tezpur on June 6, 2019, after having spent about a year in detention.
- Sri Puna Munda, aged 65 years, resident of Goalpara, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on June 10, 2019 after having spent 3.5 years in the detention camp.
- Falu Das, aged about 70 years, resident of Nalbari, died in a detention camp in Goalpara on October 24, 2019 after having spent about 2 years in detention.
- Dulal Chandra Paul, aged 65 years, resident of Sonitpur, died due to illness in a Guwahati Hospital in October 2019, after he was kept in detention for 2 years in Tezpur detention camp. He was, reportedly, mentally unstable and was declared a foreigner in an ex-parte proceeding in 2017. His family had refused to accept his body in protest for declaring him foreigner but they eventually accepted it after an appeal from the Chief Minister of Assam.
With more and more people being detained in detention camps and the government being secretive about the how these camps are run, the risk of losing more lives to these camps runs high and it’s time the government buckles up and ensures that conditions in detention camps are humane enough that they don’t have to be hidden from the press.
Related:
CJP works towards release of detainees in Assam
70 year Bengali Hindu dies in Goalpara Detention Camp in Assam
Assam Detention Camp death: Dulal Paul’s family accepts body
Yet another Mysterious Death in Assam Detention Camp
Subrata Dey Died in Detention Camp, CJP counsels and assists his family
Poverty haunts family of Subrata Dey
25 inmates dead in Assam’s Detention Camps!
