On March 11, 2023, a second batch of 87 detainees were brought to the Asia’s biggest Detention/Transit Camp, Matia in Goalpara district of Assam. These detainees have been shifted from the Silchar Centre Jail cum temporary detention camp to the Matia Camp. This camp was new built under the governance of Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government in Assam. This came after the promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2014, when he visited for Assam elections and said that he will dismantle detention camps if he comes to power. However, now a permanent detention camp has been constructed in Assam.
It is worth noting that the Government of Assam issued a notification on August 17, 2021, stating that detention camps in the state of Assam would now be known as “Transit Camps” for detention purposes. In today’s polity, the name-changing culture has no effect on the fate of the detainees.
The largest Transit Camp began its operations on January 27, 2023. It was previously reported that 68 detainees had been transferred to the Matia permanent detention camp/transit camp from the Goalpara jail. The 68 included 45 men, 21 women, and two children. As was provided by the CJP Team earlier, according to the residents, the detainees had been moved in two buses under strong police security.
And now, 87 more individuals are being kept here. These individuals have been declared ‘foreigner’ by various Foreigners Tribunal in Assam. This batch also included 22 children. Assam Inspector General of Prisons Barnali Sharma had informed the ANI that this process has been started following the directives of the Gauhati High Court.
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