Ashraful Hussain, an activist and one among the four people named in a complaint for allegedly collecting money in the name of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), has defended seeking donations to help poor and illiterate persons belonging to minority communities.
RTI activist Dulal Bora had on August 13 lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Assam police for the alleged misrepresentation of the NRC and the collection of money in its name. The three others named in the complaint include Gauhati University research scholars Rehna Sultana and Sofiqul Islam and a Hague-based researcher Mausami Chetia.
Mr. Bora mentioned two bank accounts in his complaint – one of SBI’s Gauhati University branch in Mr. Islam’s name and the other of Canara Bank’s Barpeta (western Assam) branch in Mr. Hussain’s name.
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“This is a baseless complaint. We have nothing to hide and the authorities can check the accounts being operated for a long time. We have been cooperating with the NRC process and helping poor and illiterate people since the start of the exercise in 2015. We made public appeals and sought help from people who are in a position to donate for a team of volunteers,” Mr. Hussain said.
Mr. Bora, in a letter to the CID Additional Director-General of Police L.R. Bishnoi, said the accused, besides collecting money, had “deliberately” linked the NRC issue with the scrapping of Section 370 in Jammu and Kashmir by comparing the plight of Muslims in Assam with that of Kashmiris.
“The miscreants want to say that Muslims from lower (western) Assam have been forced to sell their cattle, land and jewellery to collect ₹40,000-90,000 to attend hearings 200 to 400 km away. But there is no Hindu-Muslim angle to it. According to NRC norms, it is mandatory to be present physically at the hearings with the required documents. So, is it valid to only highlight the plight and inconveniences of the Muslims from lower Assam and open bank accounts for them?” he asked.
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Mr. Hussain countered by saying Article 370 had been dragged in to derail the NRC process.
“An inquiry at the level of a Deputy Superintendent of Police has been initiated with a seven-day deadline. An Inspector-General of Police will monitor the matter, the details of which will be known after 10 days,” Mr. Bishnoi told reporters on Friday.