44-travellers-from-j-k-held-in-assam-over-doubtful-identity

Forty-four people claiming to be from Jammu and Kashmir were detained at New Tinsukia Railway Station on Monday after a group of local youths intercepted them on suspicion of their “doubtful identity”, prompting police to step in for verification.

 

The group had arrived by the Chandigarh Express late in the afternoon and was waiting outside the station premises when some youths approached them, asking about their destination and purpose of travel. Their responses, described by police as “inconsistent”, led the locals to alert the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Hijuguri police outpost.

 

Officers reached the spot and moved the group inside the station for questioning.

 

During preliminary questioning, the travellers said they were from different districts of Jammu and Kashmir and had come to Assam for labour work. Several members claimed they had been invited by a contractor for jobs related to tower erection, earth-digging and other construction-linked tasks.

 

Also read: Assam tightens vigil, pushes back 10 Rohingyas, 6 Bangladeshis

 

However, officers said none of them could clearly recall the contractor’s full name or produce any written work order. Some reportedly offered different names, while others said they were meant to proceed to Dibrugarh after halting in Tinsukia.

 

Police said such inconsistencies required “routine verification”, especially in a region sensitive to migration-related concerns.

 

Upper Assam has witnessed several instances this year of large labour groups arriving from different states without proper documentation or clarity on their employers. Local administrations have stressed the need for contractors to register incoming labourers under existing labour laws and migrant worker guidelines.

 

Tinsukia, a major industrial district with tea gardens, oil infrastructure and ongoing transmission-line projects extending towards Arunachal Pradesh, frequently draws workers from across the country. Police said the group’s stated purpose, labour work connected to a project “extending into Arunachal Pradesh”, would also be checked with the concerned companies.