Subedar Mohammed Sanaullah
Subedar Mohammed Sanaullah

An Indian Army subedar, who retired after serving the country for 30 years, was detained by Assam Police on accusations of being a foreigner. Subedar Mohammed Sanaullah was detained for being an illegal immigrant by the declaration of the foreigners' tribunal.

Sanaullah's cousin, retired army man Ajmal Hoque, told International Business Times, India, that the reason behind the decision of the tribunal judge was based on a false statement of Sanaullah claiming to have joined the army in 1978 when he was born in 1967.

He said, "We showed the documents stating that he joined the army in 1987, they did not accept it. Sanaullah never gave any statement claiming that he joined in 1978. All of this is because of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the government is conspiring against the people who belong to the minority community. They want to throw us out of the country."

Another reason behind his detention was tweeted out by lawyer Aman Wadud which stated that he was not listed on the voters' list in 1986 when he was 19 years old. But the minimum age of voting was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1989.

Sanaullah had joined the Army in 1987. He was commissioned as a junior commission officer in 2014 and was then promoted to subedar and was later made Honorary Lieutenant. He retired in 2017 and started working as a sub-inspector with Assam Border Police. Assam Police had accused him of being a foreigner in 2018, Ajmal claimed.

"The tribunal did not even accept the land documents he has because of a minor spelling mistake in the name. Now, what can we do if the spelling is not right? It is the responsibility of the government officials," he added.

Moreover, the police have been accusing him of being a foreigner without any proper investigation. The police claim that they have taken the statement of the subedar on two occasions. But according to his service report, he was on duty in Manipur during those two occasions as part of Operation Hifajat.

Social media users around the country have condemned the incident.