Assam: NRC Authority Lodges FIR Against Ex-Coordinator Prateek Hajela

An FIR has been lodged with Assam Police CID against former state coordinator of National Register of Citizens (NRC) Prateek Hajela, who had led the updating and publication of the controversial document under the supervision of the Supreme Court with antinational act for facilitating entry of names of ineligible persons as Indian citizens in the document.

The NRC authority has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court seeking a comprehensive and time-bound re-verification of the published NRC on the ground that major irregularities have been committed while preparing the document.

Also Read: Assam Floods: Over 7 Lakh People Affected, Death Toll Reaches 14

Meanwhile, the BJP-led government in the state also sought re-verification- 20% of the data in districts bordering Bangladesh and 10% of the data in interior districts.

Notably, the process of updating the NRC of 1951 was started in 2015 under Prateek Hajela, the final list of which was published in August 2019. The final list includes names of 3,11,21,004 persons and left out names of 19,06,657 persons.

The FIR said that it is suspected that despite the mandate of the Supreme Court of India for an error free NRC, the then state coordinator Prateek Hajela may have intentionally avoided the mandatory quality check by ordering use of a software which prevented quality check and facilitated entry of names of ineligible persons into NRC, which can be seen as an anti-national act affecting the national security.

The FIR has also named few other officers and data entry operators who are alleged to have “conspired” along with Hajela.

Also Read: WHO Calls for Emergency Meet Amid Monkeypox Outbreak