Aizawl, Jul 7 : The Mizoram government has asked its police to conduct a “vigorous check of Inner Line Permits (ILP)” to identify foreigners, particularly those from Bangladesh.
Under the provisions of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, it is necessary for the non-tribals in the plains of this country to obtain a pass, known as the ILP, for them to enter Mizoram either for work or as tourists.Aizawl district superintendent of police L. T. Hrangchal today confirmed receiving such an instruction to start a process to identify non-Mizos illegally “overstaying” in Mizoram after the lapse of their ILP pass or simply infiltrating into the state.
Other police officials in Aizawl said police and the home department officials were now drawing up a campaign to identify those still remaining in Mizoram in an illegal manner with or without the pass.
Official sources in Aizawl said at present there are over 12,000 non-Mizo residents in the state, and alleged that of them majority are the suspected Bangladeshi Muslims.
A senior official of the Mizoram government liaison office in Silchar said the ILPs are issued for a period of only 15 days, but it can be extended by another fortnight by the district administrations in Mizoram.
Sources in Aizawl said many non-Mizos had, of late, crafted some devious methods of extending their stay in the state, thus triggering an impending fear among the locals of a possible adverse tilt in the population balance.
The ILP recently became the focal point of a controversy after Gauhati High Court issued an interim order on June 13 directing the Mizoram government not to arrest or deport any Indian national on the ground of not possessing a permit. However, the high court then made a modification allowing the state government in Mizoram “to verify the credentials of those persons whom the authorities in the state suspect to be not Indian citizens”.
The high court has made it clear that the verification of all records should be screened by the police and the home department officials under the leadership of an official not below the rank of a deputy superintendent of police.
On an average, 300 non-Mizos obtain passes every month under the ILP system from the Mizoram House in Silchar with a fee of Rs 120 for each permit.
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