In a shocking statement, the Assam Chief Secretary Alok Kumar on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that only 4 out of 46,000 identified illegal foreigners in Assam have been deported during 2015 to 2018. The Supreme Court expressed its displeasure over Sarbananda Sonowal-led Assam government's record in tracing foreigners.
The court was hearing a petition filed by activist Harsh Mander and asked Assam government to detail how it plans to release foreigners held in the detention centres who had entered illegally.
"There were 46,000 declared foreigners in Assam in 2015 but by 2019 only over 2000 are in detention centres and four have been deported to their home land. Where have these foreigners gone? They are not entitled to be here. What efforts have you taken to trace them?," the SC bench asked Assam Chief Secretary.
The bench also asked Alok Kumar to file an affidavit stating that Assam government's track record in tracing foreigners is "not satisfactory" and the performance of a task force to identify the foreigners has been poor.
