Shillong |  The Meghalaya government has designated the MBOSE hostel at Laitumkhrah in Shillong as a temporary detention and holding centre for foreign nationals who have completed their prison sentences but are awaiting deportation.

The Home (Political) Department issued the notification on September 17 after the Meghalaya High Court rejected a proposal to use a building in Nongstoin for the purpose. The development came during the hearing of a suo motu case concerning the prolonged detention of foreign nationals in the state’s prisons.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W Diengdoh directed the state government to shift 30 foreign nationals to the newly designated facility by September 28.

The court was informed that the MBOSE hostel, a G+2 building, has six dormitories with a capacity of 60 beds. The facility will be supported by 26 administrative and guarding personnel, eight security personnel and a platoon deployed at the gates and watchtowers.

The arrangements also include a medical officer and three medical staff, 26 CCTV cameras, fire-safety equipment and office infrastructure. Photographs of the facility were submitted before the court.

Following the court’s directions, the Inspector General of Prisons and Correctional Services instructed district jail authorities to begin transferring foreign inmates who have completed their sentences but remain in custody to Shillong.

During the September 21 hearing, the court was informed that deportation orders had already been issued in four cases and that steps were underway to facilitate their repatriation.

The matter was placed before the bench by the SP (Traffic), who is holding additional charge as SP-cum-Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO), as FRO Shillong Vivek Syiem is on medical leave. FRRO Kolkata Nidhi Rani also appeared through video conference, along with the Commissioner and Secretary of the Home (Political) Department.

The High Court is also examining the cases of five foreign nationals – two from Myanmar, two from Nigeria and one from Bangladesh – who have remained in custody for more than five years.

The bench directed the state government and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to provide details on the possibility of compensating foreign nationals who remained in detention beyond the period of their respective sentences.

The case will be heard next on September 28.