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Census Surveyors Held Hostage In Greater Noida Village Over NRC Rumours

The villagers heckled surveyors of the 7th economic census, reports say.
Demonstrators attend a protest march against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and a new citizenship law, in Kolkata, India, December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
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Demonstrators attend a protest march against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and a new citizenship law, in Kolkata, India, December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

A team of government employees were held hostage in Greater Noida’s Jarcha after residents of the village mistook them as officials surveying for the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The government employees were actually carrying out the 7th economic census.

Hindustan Times reported the police as saying that they have registered a case against one named and 40 unnamed people after the incident.

The police said that those held hostage were roughed up and when the supervisor of the team turned up, he was held hostage too.

This comes even as protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the NRC are ongoing across the country.

Rajesh Kumar Singh, DCP (3rd Gautam Budh Nagar) told The Indian Express “We received information on Tuesday that a group of officials had reached village Chholas in Greater Noida to conduct a survey. A particular section of the community became afraid as they could not understand the purpose of the inquiry. An argument took place and the officials were held hostage for a while before police arrived. One person has been named. Arrests will take place soon.”

The report said that the 41 accused have been charged with rioting, wrongful confinement and assault among other things.

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