A retired teacher in Assam’s Chirang district was wrongly arrested and put in a detention camp for foreigners for the past three years. Instead of arresting Madhumala Dal, the police picked up Madhubala Mandal in 2016. The poor woman has been languishing in the detention camp for almost three years.
An enquiry revealed that it was a case of mistaken identity. She was set free after a police officer was sent to the Kokrajhar detention camp with a copy of the court order for her release. It is not clear as to whether any action would be taken against the investigating officer who detained the wrong person. The police blamed it on a clerical error. The actual woman whom they were supposed to have detained died long ago. Madhubala’s relatives and NGO’s refused to buy the apology. There is also no clarity as to whether she would be compensated for her wrongful detention.
