75-yr-old homeopathy doctor succumbs to Covid-19 in Assam’s Cachar

His family said Ranjit Sen lost the will to live ever since he was declared a foreigner by the foreigners’ tribunal in 2018. He was arrested and put in a detention centre meant for suspected foreigners inside Silchar Central Jail

A 75-year-old homeopathy doctor succumbed to Covid-19 in Cachar district of Assam on Tuesday.

Ranjit Sen.

His family said Ranjit Sen lost the will to live ever since he was declared a foreigner by the foreigners’ tribunal in 2018. He was arrested and put in a detention centre meant for suspected foreigners inside Silchar Central Jail. He didn’t challenge the tribunal’s order to prove his citizenship.

He was released only last year following a Supreme Court directive ordering release of those who have been in detention for over two years.

His grandon Hrithik said, “He regularly voted in elections. But he wasn’t the same ever since his arrest and detention. He didn’t want to live anymore because he felt insulted.”

Sen was declared positive for Covid-19 virus last week when his family took him to a local hospital for regular health checkup. He was admitted in the hospital but falling oxygen level made his condition critical. On Tuesday afternoon he breathed his last at the hospital. A special team of Cachar district administration cremated him in accordance with the Covid protocol.

Sen is the second declared foreigner in Barak Valley part of Assam to die after being declared a foreigner. In December last year, 104-year-old Chandradhar Das died at his home at Amraghat area in Cachar. His was an ex parte judgment by the foreigners’ tribunal after he missed its notices and didn’t appear for the hearing. He was taken to Silchar detention centre but released on medical grounds after two months.

All the declared foreigners in Barak Valley have been released on bail after the Supreme Court guideline, and they are fighting their cases in tribunal courts.