Assam: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday gave a stern warning to illegal infiltrators after the Assam State Cabinet on Tuesday approved the framing of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950.
The SOP will guide the District Commissioners (DC) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) to expel illegal migrants from Assam and tackle the unabated illegal immigration from neighbouring countries.
In a post shared on X, the Assam CM said, "Illegal Infiltrators Beware! The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 is in full force and any intruder detected in our territory will be promptly PUSHED BACK."
Sarma further said to take stern action, and no compromises will be made. He added that if an illegal infiltrator is caught near the zero line or within 12 hours of illegal entry, the intruder will be directly pushed back.
The Assam CM also stated to capture the biometrics or demographic details of all detected immigrants prior to pushback.
Meanwhile, the decision was taken during the state cabinet meeting held at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
After the cabinet meeting, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "The Supreme Court, through the constitutional bench, has clearly indicated that the government of Assam is free to use the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act 1950 to detect and deport foreigners.
Under this act, the Deputy Commissioner is empowered by the central government to evacuate any person who, in the view of the Deputy Commissioner, is considered to be a foreigner.
On Wednesday, the State cabinet came out with a standard operating procedure to implement the act in the letter and spirit. Under the new SOP, the Deputy Commissioner will give 10 days to the suspected person to prove their citizenship. If the deputy commissioner, after a 10-day hearing, concludes that the person is a foreigner, then he will immediately pass an order of evacuation.
The foreigners will be immediately evacuated or will be pushed back from Assam. However, if the Deputy Commissioner is not able to come to a proper conclusion, then the matter will be referred to the Foreigners Tribunal for further hearing.
Under this act, as mandated by the Supreme Court, it will be much easier for the government of Assam to push back foreigners once he is detected and the Deputy Commissioner comes to the conclusion that they are indeed foreign nationals. So this is a landmark decision of the Assam Cabinet. Never before have we attempted this act. Now, as the Supreme Court has clearly mandated, we are going to implement this act..."
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