Barpeta NRC claimant gets clean chit at hearing after harassment

GUWAHATI: The biggest problem claimants to the National Register of Citizens is facing now is harassment by certain people objecting to their claims. In most cases, the objections are proving to be baseless. By not making an appearance at the hearing centres, those objecting to claims are further compounding the issue and this is compelling claimants to seek punitive action against them.

Har Kumar Goswami is one such victim of harassment, who is demanding that the government takes action against people involved in harassing him and his family.

Rampur village, not far from the bustling Barpeta town in lower Assam , has been the home of Goswami's ancestors. But for purposes of business, the 58-year-old-along with his mother, wife and daughter- took up a rented accommodation in Guwahati, barely 130 km away, in the 1990s. He set up a small business here to run his family.

But the Goswamis continued to maintain their ancestral home. Every election, they turned up at the village to cast their votes. Emotionally, the family was rooted in Barpeta, best known for its Satras (Vaishnavite monasteries). What really turned Goswami's world upside down was a notice from the NRC authorities recently asking him to appear for a hearing regarding objections raised about his citizenship claims.

Belonging to a respected Brahmin family in Rampur (where indigenous communities form the bulk of the population), Goswami felt humiliated. Nevertheless, he appeared for the hearing at the government irrigation office in Barpeta on Tuesday morning.

None of the complainants-Dhanmoni Kakati or Rahul Sutradhar-who objected to Goswami's inclusion in the NRC, turned up for the hearing. Interestingly, the addresses of Kakati and Sutradhar, were found to be incomplete. In case Goswami wishes to file a harassment case against them, he would not be able to because the addresses are not clear. According to information procured from the hearing centre, the two have mentioned Barpeta as their village and nothing beyond that.

"We were suspecting a conspiracy from day one and it was proved right today. None of the complainants turned up. If the government cannot take action against such unscrupulous elements who are trying to keep genuine citizens out of the NRC, who will protect people from being tagged as foreigners?" asked Goswami helplessly.

Goswami got a clean chit once he produced all relevant legacy proof documents.

This is not a one-off case as hundreds of claimants are facing similar harassments in Barpeta. The District Registrar of Citizen Registration and Barpeta district magistrate, Munindra Sharma, said that at this moment priority has been given to disposing of the objections.

"Even if the complainants do not come for the hearing, the objections raised against the NRC claimants can be resolved. If the citizenship documents are valid, our officials will dispose of the cases on the day of the hearing itself to make sure genuine citizens don't have to come again and again to prove their identity," said Sharma.