On Sunday, a 65-year-old mentally unstable man lodged in a detention camp for illegal migrants in Assam died at the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
According to the Indian Express, the man's family had claimed that he was mentally unstable. The mans was identified as Dulal Paul, a resident of Alisinga village of Sonitpur district, was admitted to the GMCH on September 28. He was admitted for treatment due to “deteriorating health”. A officer told the leading daily that Paul had been in the detention centre in Tezpur since October 11, 2017.
“He was mentally unstable… His siblings and their families are in the NRC. Our family has land documents dating back to the 1960s. A mentally-unstable person was put into detention,” Sadhan Paul, a nephew of Dulal told the Indian Express.
Assam has six detention centres but they are housed in district jails, together they hold 1000-odd people. A seventh centre, is under construction in Goalpara district. According to government data, 24 persons declared as ‘illegal foreigners’ by Assam’s Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs) and lodged in detention camps have died in the last three years.
