GUWAHATI: The National Register of Citizens (NRC), being updated in Assam, is not only making families insecure, it is also breaking families of the future.
The family of a woman broke her relationship with her future husband’s family over an argument regarding NRC. Both families hail from Berenga Part V, Nayagram in southern Assam’s Silchar.
The locals said Kutub Uddin Barbhuiya had fixed the marriage of his daughter Rehna (name changed) with Dilwar Hussain Laskar (30) but cancelled it at the last moment as the would-be groom failed to produce his citizenship documents.
Later, after Rehna (20) eloped with Dilwar on August 15, her family said it would accept their marriage only if Dilwar could prove he was not an illegal immigrant. The family lodged an FIR with the police alleging that she was kidnapped by him.
Dilwar’s family members had visited the woman’s house on August 16 to settle the case but Barbhuiya insisted they furnish documents which establish Dilwar is an Indian, not a “Bangladeshi”.
“As NRC is being updated in Assam, we wanted to be doubly sure about his citizenship. So, we asked them to furnish his citizenship documents but they couldn’t. This has strengthened our suspicion,” the woman’s brother said requesting not to be named.
He said it was the duty of his family to check and cross-check if the person, seeking to marry his sister, was a genuine Indian citizen or an illegal immigrant.
“The marriage was not fixed as being said. We may accept it but first, he (Dilwar) has to prove that he is an Indian. We want to be certain about it as it involves the future of my sister,” the brother said.
The police said they were searching for the duo. A police official said Dilwar and Rehna were in a relationship.
Except for Dilwar, the names of all his family members purportedly figured in the NRC. The family is hopeful he will be included in the final NRC to be published on August 31.