FIR lodged against former Assam NRC coordinator

Guwahati, June 23: An NGO Assam Public Works (APW) has filed a complaint against former state NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela and alleged that Hajela and his associates had manipulated the Family Tree Verification during the NRC updation process.

In its first information report with the ADGP of CID branch of Assam police on June 21, Assam Public Works said that Prateek Hajela and his associates had manipulated the Family Tree Verification during NRC updation in collaboration with some officers with a migrant background, Data Entry Operators, some Minority Leaders and also with some Anti-National elements.

“Inclusion of very high percentage of illegal and doubtful persons’ name in NRC, it is suspected that there have been manipulations in the family tree verification. Software for Family Tree Matching was prepared by the then state NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela in such a way that no superior officers could make any quality check. As there was no quality check, the officers with migrant backgrounds got a free hand to include names of the suspected foreigners at their will. The entire mischief was done by the then State Coordinator in connivance with some anti-national element. Absence of any quality checks in such a huge operation involving thousands of officials itself leads to the suspicion that Hajela did it willfully for his personal interest,” Assam Public Works said in its complaint copy.

The NGO further said that – “The verification of “Family Tree” would have been the foolproof method of NRC verification, had it been done properly. In the Family Tree Verification, all the offspring of a ‘Legacy Person’ were asked to submit their family details which were compared through software. The Family Trees of the genuine offspring match and the Family Tree of the persons who assume a name in the pre-1971 documents as their ancestors do not match with that of the genuine offspring.”

“After observing inclusion of a very high percentage of illegal and doubtful persons’ name in NRC, it is suspected that there have been manipulations in the family tree verification. In the IA filed by the present State Coordinator, NRC, it was reported that there have been 40% wrong uploading of results of Family Tree Matching which cannot be treated as a normal human error but it was a well-planned, well-coordinated effort to include undeserving persons’ name into NRC. This is an act of treason towards the Nation. We suspect that Prateek Hajela (the then State coordinator, NRC, Assam) and his close associates in collaboration with officers having illegal migrant backgrounds and also with some Anti-National elements. Have used the government mechanism to insert the names of the illegal migrants in the updated NRC,” APW said.


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Assam Public Works also said that, if the call records of the officers and Data Entry Operators working in the immigrant dominated areas are analyzed, the nexus between Prateek Hajela, some officers with an immigrant background, Data Entry Operators and some minority leaders will come into light enabling the law enforcing agencies to take action against such anti-national activities.

The last NRC list as published in August 2019 had left out the names of 19.06 lakh of some 3.3 crore applicants.