‘Will accept court’s ruling’, says ex-Army man declared ‘foreigner’ in Assam

Mangalore Today News Network

Assam, Jun 08, 2019 : A retired Army veteran who was declared a foreigner walked out of a detention camp in Assam on Saturday—a day after the Gauhati High Court granted him interim bail, Hindustan Times reported.

 

Mohammad Sanaullah, who had served the Indian Army for 30 years before retiring in 2017 as a ‘Subedar’, was declared a non-citizen by a foreigners’ tribunal on May 23 and sent to detention camp six days later.

On Friday, acting on a petition filed by his family, a division bench of the Gauhati HC granted interim bail to the 52-year-old subject to certain conditions.

The veteran, who was serving with the border organization of Assam Police after his retirement, was released on Saturday after furnishing a bail bond of Rs 20,000 and two local sureties.

“I am very thankful to the honorable high court. I have full faith in the judicial system and will accept whatever (final) judgment the court gives in my case,” Sanaullah told HT after returning to his home in Satgaon locality here and reuniting with his family.

While the court had ordered his release on interim bail, hearings on the request to quash the foreigners’ tribunal order, that pronounced him a non-citizen, will continue.

The court also directed the authorities to obtain the officer’s biometrics and fingerprints before releasing him on interim bail.

It was also stipulated that subsequent to his release, Sanaullah should not move out of the territorial jurisdiction of Kamrup (Rural) and Kamrup (Metro) districts without prior information and approval of the Superintendent of Police (Border), Kamrup.

Following his release from Goalpara detention camp on Saturday morning, Sanaullah was brought to the office of the Superintendent of Police (Border) Kamrup located at Amingaon on the outskirts of Guwahati to complete formalities as directed by the court.