Assam: Man Fighting for Citizenship Commits Suicide at Morigaon

An elderly citizen, who was fighting a case at a Foreigners’ Tribunal even after his name appeared in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has allegedly died by suicide in Morigaon district, Assam, said officials.

The 60-year-old man, identified as Manik Das of Borkhal village said to have ended his life because of frustration and mental torture he faced while attending the proceedings at the Tribunal to prove his Indian citizenship.

According to police, Das was missing since Sunday and his body was found hanging from a tree on a hillock near his house on Tuesday evening.

According to reports, Das was cremated on Wednesday after the postmortem.

The family of the deceased alleged he was going through a bout of depression due to the case against him at the Foreigners' Tribunal-2 in Morigaon.

"The case has been going on for many years. We don't know why the police sent a notice to him and filed the case. My father's name appeared in the NRC. He was frustrated and faced mental torture due to the entire process," said the minor daughter of Das as reported by India Today.

The daughter also claimed that Das had all valid legal identity documents such as PAN card, Aadhaar card and land records in his name.

Morigaon Deputy Superintendent of Police (Border) D R Bora, however, said family issues could have driven Das to take the extreme step.

"It is totally wrong to link the alleged suicide with the FT case. The cause of suicide might be household issues," he told PTI.

The case against Das was registered at the Tribunal in 2004.

Bora claimed only a notice was served on Das and no case was registered against any member of his family in accordance with the guidelines of the Gauhati High Court.