GUWAHATI: The police in Assam’s Barpeta district have sent 28 people to the Matia “transit” camp after they were declared “foreigners” by a foreigners’ tribunal.Barpeta Superintendent of Police Sushanta Biswa Sarma stated that 19 men and nine women were sent to the transit camp on Monday in compliance with the tribunal’s order.The individuals, all Bengali-speaking Muslims, were declared foreigners following legal scrutiny. They had been residing in different parts of the district.The police summoned them to the SP’s office, after which they were transported to the transit camp by bus under tight security arrangements.A crowd, reportedly comprising family members and relatives, gathered outside the SP’s office. They cried and hugged the declared foreigners.The foreigners’ tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies that deal with cases of suspected foreigners. Assam has over 100 such tribunals.Constructed at a cost of Rs 64 crore, the Matia transit camp was initially a detention centre. It was renamed a transit camp to give it a more humane touch. The facility can house 3,000 people.
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