Sadhan Malakar, Sunil Ray, Nurul Nesa – Dima Hasao District – 2016 – 2019
Detention Timeline Case Study #12 [written in Bangla by Kamal Chakraborty, translated into English by Riya]
For us, Police mean – “people who take bribes from us for everything, people who strike us as they please, oppressors,” – this is our general attitude towards police. But the police from Dima Hasao District set a unique precedent after the Supreme Court ruling and the subsequent release of people from the Silchar Detention Camp for the COVID-19 protocol. They tried to release 22 detainees who were residents of Langting, Halflong, Maibang, Hathikhali, Umrongso. For the release of the detainees, there were many things needed, like a lawyer, court fee, stamp paper, and most importantly, guarantors and doing all of these things require resources. Moreover, since this was happening during the COVID-19 lockdown period and all the courts were closed, it was impossible to follow through; at least, this wasn’t an easy task. But the Halflong Police staff created a team and were constantly trying to approach the issues. When they were unable to raise money for four people, they contacted me for help. I offered that they borrow the money from me, and once the people are out, they will receive the amount. And that was precisely what the police did!
I have my utmost respect and admiration for them for the work that they have done. Unfortunately, I cannot talk about all 22 cases, but here I am holding up a couple of them:
The day was April 29, 2020 Wednesday. Three people were released from the Silchar Detention Camp. All three were declared to be “illegal foreigners” by the Halflong Foreigners’ Tribunal. The three people were: Sadhan Malakar, Sunil Roy, and Nurul Nesa.
Sadhan Malakar
Sadhan’s old house was in Jalalpur, Cachar District, Assam. After living in Jalalpur for many years, he moved out of his family house due to family issues and eventually settled in Halflong with his wife and son. When he moved to Halflong, he did not carry the necessary documents along, and that is how he ended up getting a “D-Notice”. Sadhan, like many of us, probably never even knew about the importance of these papers till he was pushed into this legal situation with the notice. Many more such poor helpless, day labourers were sent to Silchar Detention Camp by the Halflong Foreigners’ Tribunal just because they could not provide the necessary documents. The same was the case with Mr Sadhan Malakar—on February 18, 2016, he was sent to Silchar Detention Camp. He completed four long years inside the camp; today, his age is 56.
I first met Sadhan Malakar when I went to the camp regarding the work of their release. I went there and realised his son, Munna Malakar is also in the detention camp. So I collected the contact details of Sadhan Malakar’s wife, Lakshmi Rani Das and his daughter-in-law Shilpi Rani Das (Munna Malakar’s wife). Munna Malakar'swife Shilpi Malakar couldn't even visit Silchar the past couple of years as the local train has not been functioning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of everything, the substantial financial cost was hard for Shilpi to bear alone. She has two children, and she works as a domestic help in different houses. I got in touch with them, and together we tried hard to find guarantors needed for the release from the camp. We even tried and tested all our network of friends and acquaintances of Jalalpur but ended up with nothing.
I kept informing the Halflong office of Border Police that we could not find guarantors required to release a few people from Halflong. Finally, Halflong (Border) Police solved this situation for me, and I was genuinely surprised by them. Through their own initiative, they secured six people to be guarantors. They just wanted us to pay for the court and stamp paper fee.
When we were finding it difficult to raise money for the case of Sadhan Malakar, I called up Ratish Deb to inform him about it, and he solved my problem by figuring out the finances. Ratish-Da was once the resident of Karimganj District and moved to Halflong for work. Since we were children, we have known Ratish Da; once he retired, he settled in Guwahati and spent his retirement working for people whose names went missing from NRC, D-Voters, and People in the Detention Camps. Through Jamsher Ali, he connected with Citizenship for Justice and Peace and is now working with them.
But eventually, after all of these issues and hurdles, Sadhan Malakar was released on bail so that he could be with his family. His son, Munna Malakar, was transferred to Halflong in December 2020. Munna Malakar was released on bail on June 2021.
Sunil Roy
Sunil Roy was the resident of Halflong; I somehow collected the number and contacted his wife Shampa; she connected me with her father. When I called her father, I got to know that he lives in Badarpur. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, people are unable to travel between Badarpur and Halflong. They were under a lot of pressure and were in deep trouble regarding how to get Sunil out and figure out the various things that needed to be taken care of for his release. In the end, the police helped them out. Shampa’s father ended up paying 1000-1500 INR to them for the fees of stamp paper etc., and was relieved about his son-in-law’s release. By then, Sunil Roy has already spent four years in the Silchar Detention Camp since February 21, 2016. Currently, he is 56 years old.
Nurul Nesa
Nurul Nesa used to live in Kashipur, Halflong, of Dima Hasao District. After spending three years in the Kokrajhar detention camp, she came to Silchar Detention Camp on June 1, 2019, and then her age was 60 years old.
Nurul Nesa has some neurological issues; most days, it was impossible for her to eat and drink, it was difficult for her to speak. While she was in the Kokrajhar Detention Camp, there were certain groups/gangs in prison. One leader from the group used to force her to work for them and wash their clothes; if she refused, they would physically abuse her. This has traumatised and made her condition worsen. At some point during her stay and going through regular abuse, her left hand got injured. There was no medical help for her; no one paid attention to her injuries or provided any kind of medication. While she was in detention, she lost her husband and two sons. Living in the detention camp through regular abuse, losing her husband and two children, she lost her will to live; she was traumatised mentally and physically. Before getting arrested, she lived near her sister. Both she and her sister were day-labourers. They together used to work as labourers in road construction under the government schemes of employment and lived her life, but suddenly she was pushed into the detention camp. After getting released from the camp, she said, “hope no woman is sent to detention camps; women were severely tortured there.” Her sister and niece raised money and arranged for her bail. At the same time, the police officers working on the case from Halflong made sure the cost was kept to a minimum. The police of Halflong showed us that there is light hidden even in the darkness. They proved that “people are there for people, as people” at the end of the day. Because of such people, we are hopeful that good days might actually come.
[This is the 12th Case Study from the book আসামে নাগরিকত্ব হরণের দহনলিপি // Transliteration: Assam-e Nagorikottwo Horoner Dohonlipi by Kamal Chakraborty. The book was first published in February 2021 by Kotha Bikolpo Pariwar, Silchar, Assam. To know more about the book and this translation project or contact the translator or the author, click here. If you want to order this original book in Bangla, you can get it from the People’sBook Society, College Street in Kolkata. Contact Number: 033-22199256; instead, you may also contact the author or the translator. ]