An elderly Bengali Muslim man died a months after he was arrested and declared a foreigner.
Amzad Ali, who was arrested in May during a crackdown on alleged foreigners, hailed from Rowmari village in Barpeta district. He was sent to Matia detention centre and was transferred to Goalpara Civil Hospital after his health started to deteriorate. He was then taken to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, where doctors confirmed that he was ailing with cancer.
Fearing for his deteriorating health, his family requested his release. However, the authorities rejected all pleas.
Ali leaves behind his mother, wife, and his seven children — three sons and four daughters. Earlier in April, a 42-year-old Md Abdul Motlib died while in custody. Ali’s death comes as the second death reported in the detention centre.
Matia is India’s largest detention centre, heavily criticised as the place fails to provide basic facilities and medical care to individuals who are yet to be proven foreigners.
The death comes in the backdrop of arrests of hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslims from various districts, alleged to be foreigners by the authorities. This incident also raises questions about the lack of empathy the authorities have towards an elderly man who was ailing with a life-threatening disease.
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