URA: A 27-year-old man already registered as a bonafide voter and resident of the neighbouring state of Assam has been running a trade in Phulbari town of west Garo Hills district after getting a TNT license from the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council which failed to detect how he had obtained a birth certificate from Meghalaya.
Ahinur Rahman obtained his birth certificate from Phulbari Conmmunity Health Centre (CHC) which mentioned that he was born at his home in village Islampur under Phulbari police station on May 3rd 1986.
The birth certificate was issued to Rahman by the Phulbari CHC doctor, less than two years ago, on the 5th of December 2012.
While Rahman claims in his birth certificate to be a resident of Islampur village in Garo Hills, yet his election identity card EPIC no. GCL 1695256 clearly states that he is a resident of Tumani village under South Salmara sub-division of Dhuubri district in Assam.
The election identity card also mentions him as a registered voter of 169, 1160 Sarkarer Gaon LP School of Dhubri district. The election identity card was issued to him in October, last year.
Interestingly, the executive member in charge of taxation in the GHADC cleared the application form of Rahman when he applied for a TNT license (Trading by Non-Tribals) without allegedly verifying the applicant’s details.
It is further alleged that the local MDC from the plains belt, Fozibur Rahman endorsed the application of the Assam resident who posed as a resident of Phulbari to run his garment store from the town.
The alleged duplicity does not end there with the trader even obtaining a certificate from the Gaonbura of Shyamding village, Alhaj Goffur Mondal, certifying Rahman as a ‘bonafide’ resident of Islampur.
Such cases of duplicity where people from the neighboring state have been posing as local residents to obtain benefits are believed to be plenty in the plains belt that has faced accusations of connivance between corrupt officials and village heads even in the past.
The A’chik Youth Welfare Organization (AYWO) which first detected the case of duplicity has been critical of the district council authorities for allegedly turning a blind eye to such cases which according to them encourages influx in the plains belt.
“We will seek legal action to curb such illegal practices which are benefiting not our own genuine citizens but people from outside the state,” warned AYWO president Adinson Momin.