A suicide survivor who CJP had counselled and assisted during the application process, has now been included in the final NRC. In March 2019, Hasan Ali, a resident on Hans Chara village, had tried to take his own life after his name was excluded from the NRC final draft. Ali was saved when his friends cut the rope he had used to hang himself from a tree.
Back then CJP volunteers had rushed to the spot within 30 minutes and since then we have have not only offered him assistance with the NRC process, but have also been counselling him not to lose hope. CJP volunteers also coordinated with the local NSK to promptly resolve the matter.
Now that the final NRC has been published, and 19,06,657 people have been excluded from the final list, CJP’s campaign has become even more focused. Our objective now, is to help these excluded people defend their citizenship before Foreigners’ Tribunals. For this we have already started conducting a series of workshops to train paralegals to assist people at FTs. We will also be publishing a multi-media training manual containing simplified aspects of legal procedure, evidentiary rules, and judicial precedents that will ensure the appeals filed against the NRC exclusions in the FTs are comprehensive and sound, both in fact and in law. This will assist our paralegals, lawyers and the wider community in Assam to negotiate this tortuous process. For this we need your continued support. Please donate now to help us help Assam.
On August 31, 2019 when the final NRC was published, CJP volunteer Mohammed Faruk Ahmed was with him and this is what Hasan Ali had to say:
Brief background of the case
Ali had filed his application in 2015 and was shocked to discover that his name was missing from the list. When he complained to the NRC Authority he was told that he had not submitted any application. But Ali promptly produced not only a receipt, but also the Application Registration Number (ARN).
He sent a complaint letter to the NSK where he had filed his application. That’s when it was discovered that his application had been placed with D Voters documents by accident and this is why his paperwork was never processed.
The NRC authority accepted its mistake and promised to fix the problem. The Deputy Commissioner of Morigaon directed the circle officer and CRCR to immediately rectify the issue. But no progress was made and a frustrated Ali tried to hang himself on March 8. Luckily he had a lot of friends who genuinely cared about him. CJP is humbled to be a part of Hasan’s journey and genuinely happy for him.
Related:
CJP trains paralegals to help Indians defend their citizenship
CJP moves SC to defend genuine Citizenship of people in Assam
CJP in Action: Additional Exclusion list released, our team swings into action in Assam