98% of Hailakandi residents are Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants; Report is untrue, clarifies IAS Sameer Kumar Khare

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Last year late November, senior officials of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance had visited Hailakandi. The three-day visit was to do a research on the demography of the region, as it was necessary to file the PM Vision Report. After the visit a report was tabled by Joint Secretary of the department Sameer Kumar Khare, which stated that 98 per cent of the people living in Hailakandi district are illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. The report also stated that out of the 98 per cent, 60 per cent are Muslims and 38 per cent are Hindus.

The report had created a furor in the region and renowned political figure and an MLA elect, Anwar Hussain Lashkar, reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take action against the concerned official for presenting a “baseless report” and then making “public statement” about the same. The MLA was of the opinion that such reports could have easily disturbed peace and harmony in Hailakandi. He had also sent out a letter to NITI Aayog on the same, hoping to receive some aid…

Well it looks like letters have worked… the bureaucrat yesterday reached Hailakandi and in presence of Deputy Commissioner of the district, Adil Khan met MLA Hussain. After the meeting Khare addressed media and said that the earlier report is “un-true” and the facts stated there should be ignored. He apologised for tabling such a baseless report and assured that it would be withdrawn.

The region is already worried about the ongoing NRC proceedings as many names are missing and there is no clarity on the road ahead. In such a time such reports can certainly harm harmony and cause ruckus. It’s good that the bureaucrat addressed the matter immediately and issued a formal apology.