Meghalaya government has adopted extra precautionary measures to curb the entry of illegal citizens into the state from Assam after the final NRC list was published which excluded 1.9 million people.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who has already expressed concern over the possible influx of illegal immigrants into Meghalaya, has asked Superintendents of Police across the state to keep a 24-hour vigil on undocumented visitors.
During the ongoing Meghalaya Autumn Assembly session, Sangma, in a reply to a query, said that all the district SPs have been directed to liaise with the local headmen and to activate Village Defense Parties (VDP) in all the villages with an instruction to provide information of any attempt of infiltration by illegal immigrants.
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He informed the House that till date, a total of 223 outsiders have been detected so far and that they were being sent back to their place of origins since they could not produce original valid documents.
“Instructions were issued to carry out comprehensive checking and not to allow anyone coming from Assam without sufficient proof of documents. The check-posts at the key entry points bordering with Assam have been posted with adequate manpower,” said Sangma.
The NRC which was updated in Assam to detect illegal migrants in Assam has excluded 1.9 million people from the list with a cut off date of March 24 of 1971. Sangma, who spoke during the 4th conclave of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) in Guwahati on Monday, had also expressed his fear that people left out from the NRC might migrate to Meghalaya.
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“Infiltration Special Squad present in all districts has been directed to conduct an enumeration of villages and submit an enumeration report every month as a precautionary step in detecting infiltrators. All district SPs have been directed to provide a contact number of a responsible officer posted in the district who shall liaise with the NGOs in sharing information in cases of infiltration of outsiders,” Sangma added.
He also mentioned the ill-effects of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in front of Union Home Minister and BJP national president Amit Shah during the conclave.
