Man declared as foreigner dies in Assam

A person who had been declared as a foreigner in Assam died at a hospital here, jail authorities said on Tuesday. The man, identified as Nikhil Barman, was an inmate of a detention camp inside Goalpara district jail from November 29, 2016 after he was declared a foreigner by a Foreigners' Tribunal, the authorities said.

The 66-year-old person, admitted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital on November 4 with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), died on Saturday, the authorities said. His last rites were performed at Tengaguri village, his family members said.

Earlier the family of another detenue, Dulal Paul housed in Tezpur detention camp, had refused to accept his body after he died at the GMCH on October 14. His family had refused to accept it, saying how could they accept the body of a "declared foreigner".

Paul was lodged in a detention camp since 2017 after a tribunal had declared him as a foreigner. The Assam government had ordered a magisterial probe into Paul's death..