GUWAHATI: An 83-year-old woman from Assam's Cachar district was finally declared as an Indian citizen on Wednesday, May 11, after she was served a notice by the Foreigners Tribunal (FT) in February to produce documents to prove her citizenship.
Akol Rani Namasudra was issued the notice by the FT based on a case first registered in 2000 alleging she had “illegally” entered India after 1971, news reports said.
"Akol Rani Namasudhra has successfully proved her case by adducing cogent, reliable, and admissible evidence. She has clearly been able to establish the fact of her presence of herself on Indian soil as well as in the State of Assam, relatable to a period prior to 01.01.1966 in accordance with the law. Hence, I am of the considered opinion Akol Rani Namasudhra is a citizen of India and she is not a foreigner," the order issued by Foreigner's Tribunal-4 or FT-4 member Dharmendra Deb said.
Namasudra’s son allegedly died by suicide in 2012 after he was asked to prove that he was not an illegal immigrant.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign for the 2014 general elections had raised her son’s suicide, when the party's candidate for the Prime Minister's post then, Narendra Modi, mentioned about the tragedy.
(With inputs from agencies)