NEW DELHI: Twenty-eight people have died in the detention centres in Assam from the beginning of 2016 till October 10 this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed Parliament on Wednesday.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, however, told the Rajya Sabha that none of the detenues have died due to “apprehension or fear”. “They died due to various illnesses,” he said, adding that they were not eligible for any compensation as they had entered the country illegally.
Rai was responding to a question by Trinamool Congress member Santanu Sen. Rai also disclosed the total number of foreigners lodged six detention centres in Assam. He said, “As informed by the state Government of Assam, as on November 22, 988 foreigners were lodged in six detention centres in Assam. From the year 2016 up to 13.10.2019, 28 detenues have died either in the detention centres or in hospitals where they were referred.”
Rai said as per the information made available by the state government, the detention centres are equipped with all basic facilities, including medical care. “Basic facilities like food, clothing, daily newspapers, television facilities in every ward, sports facilities, performance of cultural programs, library, yoga, meditation facilities etc, are provided to the detenues in the centres,” he said.
The minister said indoor hospital facilities with medical staff are available in every detention centre and health checkups of detenues are regularly done.
In case of complications, doctors refer detenues to the nearest civil hospitals of the districts concerned and on advice of civil hospital authorities, they are admitted to medical colleges and other health institutes, he said.
When BJP MP Swapan Dasgupta sought to know how many of those lodged in the detention centres were religious minorities (Hindu, Parsi, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Christian) from Bangladesh, Rai said, “the information will be collected and sent across.”