Death toll in Detention Centres goes on: Another inmate of Goalpara Centre dies

October 26: Detention Centre’s in Assam has become centre’s of death. One after another, the detainees are dying in the various detention camps of Assam raising several questions on the nature of our welfare state. Within a fortnight of the death of Dulal Chandra Paul, an inmate of the Tezpur Detention Centre; another inmate of the Goalpara detention camp also breathed his last on 24 October, 2019.

As per reports, Phalu Das (70), a man lodged in a detention camp in Goalpara district of Assam since July 2017 was admitted in Gauhati medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on 13 October, 2019. He was a resident of Satemari area of Nalbari district’s Mukalmuwa region. He was declared a foreigner and sent to a detention camp in 2017.

Das was first admitted to the Goalpara Civil Hospital on 11 October, 2019 from where he was shifted to the GMCH on 13 October, 2019 for better medical assistance. Phalu Das, however, died at GMCH on 24 October, 2019. Similar to that of Dulal Paul’s family, the relatives of Das’ family also refused to accept his body and demanded that  he should be declared an Indian or else they will not accept the body.

 The family members of Phalu Das alleged that they were not informed about his illness. His son said that his father was declared a foreigner despite having every document.  Expressing his strong resentment at the government for “harassing” the family by declaring Das a foreigner, one of his three sons said, “We won’t accept his body since he was declared a Bangladeshi. Let the government send his body to Bangladesh.”

The series of deaths in the Detention Centres have led the Assam government to constitute a special review committee to assess the conditions prevailing in these centres. The committee headed by DIG (Border) would comprise inspector general of prisons, district and session judge Hardeep Singh (Retd), one representative to be nominated by Deputy Commissioner of the concerned district and any other member co-opted by the Chairman.