NRC issue engulfs court proceeding in Assam: After facing years of allegations regarding the National Register of Citizens (NRC) updation process in Assam, court proceedings have commenced against former State coordinator Prateek Hajela, Wipro Limited (the system integrator), and subcontractor Integrated System and Services (ISS). Hajela, who had already retired voluntarily from his position under the Assam government, was recently summoned by the Kamrup (Metro) additional district and sessions court to appear on November 17 but failed to do so. The district court in Guwahati has now scheduled the next hearing for February 6, 2024, and has granted petitioner Luit Kumar Barman permission to notify the retired IAS officer through newspaper advertisements.
Barman, an Assamese entrepreneur turned award-winning film producer, is preparing to publish the advertisements in two national dailies (one in English and one in Hindi), as well as two widely circulated newspapers in Hajela’s home state of Madhya Pradesh and in Assam. Wipro, the internationally renowned Indian IT company, submitted an affidavit through its representatives. However, ISS (represented by proprietor Utpal Hazarika) did not receive the summons properly, and the court instructed petitioner Barman to take appropriate action. Both Wipro and ISS face serious allegations of tampering with the software, which allowed thousands of illegal Bangladeshi nationals to apply for Indian citizenship. The complainant filed the petition based on the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on social, economic, and general sectors for the year ending on March 31, 2020, which highlighted irregularities in the NRC Assam updation process from May 2014 to October 2019. The highest auditing body also recommended penal action against Hajela and Wipro.
Barman lodged a complaint at the Paltan Bazar police station on October 19, 2022, against Hajela, Wipro, and ISS for their suspected involvement in money laundering. However, he was not given any attention, so he approached the court of the Kamrup (Metro) chief judicial magistrate.
Barman presented three individuals as witnesses: Hitesh Devsarma, a retired IAS officer who succeeded Hajela as the NRC State coordinator, Aabhijeet Sarma, the president of Assam Public Works (the original petitioner in the Supreme Court for the updation of the 1951 Assam NRC), and himself. Both Devsarma and Sarma had already filed three FIRs against Hajela, accusing him of financial mismanagement, intentionally including names of illegal migrants in the NRC draft, and underpaying over 6,000 contractual data entry operators. It is worth mentioning that these data entry operators, some of whom were paid as little as Rs 5,500 per person, are still awaiting their outstanding dues.
However, the concerned police officer-in-charge refused to register the case, prompting the complainant to send an email on March 17 to the city police commissioner, but to no avail. When the Kamrup (Metro) chief judicial magistrate court also declined to address his appeal for justice regarding this sensitive issue affecting millions of genuine residents of Assam, Barman approached the Kamrup (Metro) sessions court. Several months ago, the fifth FIR was filed against Hajela at Dispur police station, highlighting the exploitation of the data entry operators. The complaint argued that the operators have yet to receive their cumulative outstanding amount (nearly Rs one billion) from the relevant agencies.
Amidst the discussions surrounding the NRC scam, social media users exposed and criticized three Guwahati-based television journalists who allegedly benefited from the scam. These journalists are suspected of supplying the data entry operators to ISS and subsequently benefiting themselves through illegal means. The people of Assam still remember how these journalists praised Hajela as an exceptional officer and declared the NRC draft as final, even though it had not been endorsed by the Registrar General of India. Social media users argued that the data entry operators must be compensated financially according to the law. Expressing concern over these developments, the Journalists’ Forum Assam urged local news channel managements to clarify that no journalist from their organizations was involved in the scam to prevent the entire media fraternity from being perceived as corrupt. Recently, the nationalist group Bharat Raksha Manch (BRM) urged Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to approve the registration of all FIRs against Hajela related to the NRC scam. They also appealed to the state government to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court requesting a complete re-verification of the NRC draft using the base year of 1951 instead of 1971. The state unit of BRM, under the leadership of Dwijendra N Barthakur, organized a protest demonstration in the city on October 2, demanding appropriate legal actions against Hajela and other individuals involved in the NRC updation scam.
Barman, in an interview, emphasized that he holds no personal enmity towards Hajela but considersthe issue a matter of national importance. Regarding the next hearing date, the young engineer-turned-entrepreneur revealed his plans to publish the advertisements as soon as possible. He mentioned that he received monetary contributions from thousands of friends and social media users, and the funds collected from the crowd would be used for the advertisements. Barman stated that the overwhelming response indicates the serious concern of the nation regarding this matter.
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