Meghalaya to House Overstaying Foreigners in Shillong School Board Hostel
Meghalaya's High Court has directed the state to shift 30 foreign nationals who have completed their prison terms to a temporary detention centre at the MBoSE hostel in Shillong.
The Meghalaya government has designated a hostel run by the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE) in Shillong's Laitumkhrah area as a temporary detention centre for foreign nationals who remain in custody after serving out their prison sentences.
The Home (Political) Department issued a notification on September 17 identifying the hostel, after the High Court of Meghalaya turned down the state's earlier plan to use a building in Nongstoin, the headquarters of West Khasi Hills district, roughly 90 km northwest of the capital.
On Monday, a division bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh directed that all such foreign nationals be moved to the MBoSE facility at the earliest, and no later than September 28. The court noted that the required facilities were practically in place.
Acting on the directive, the Inspector General of Prisons and Correctional Services instructed the heads of all district jails to begin shifting foreign inmates who have overstayed their sentences to the hostel.
According to a status report placed before the court, the G+2 building has six dormitories with 60 beds. It will be staffed by 26 administrative and guarding personnel, eight security staff and a platoon stationed at the gates and watchtowers. The arrangements also include a medical officer assisted by three medical staff, 26 CCTV cameras, fire-safety equipment and office infrastructure.
Officials told the court that deportation orders have been issued in four cases and repatriation steps are under way. They also said they would examine the cases of five foreign nationals — two each from Myanmar and Nigeria and one from Bangladesh — who have been in custody for more than five years.
The bench asked the state government and the Kolkata-based Foreigners Regional Registration Office to place on record how foreign nationals detained beyond their sentences can be compensated. The matter is scheduled to be heard again on September 28.