Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: The Assam government hit land rights activist Pranab Doley with the National Security Act (NSA) on July 30. This happened one day after a Golaghat district court granted him bail. Doley leads the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee. He was arrested July 12 at the Bokakhat Police Station. The arrest followed June 28 protests against a proposed Hyatt luxury hotel at Ingle Pathar, near Kaziranga National Park.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh slammed the move. He called the detention a "blatant misuse of preventive detention laws" and alleged state overreach. More than 60 organizations joined the protest. They labeled the detention a vindictive attempt to silence opposition to corporate land grabs. The coalition includes the National Alliance of People’s Movements and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.
Four other activists remain jailed in the same case. They are Amit Nag, Bijit Kutum, Bhaskar Saikia, and Rajib Pegu. Community members like Geeta Gowala and Minali Gowala now face arrest threats. Activist Adit Chandra Rabha remains in jail for opposing a separate project in Barduar. The state has also targeted other residents, including Srimoti Kishan.
The Golaghat Sessions Court had previously criticized the use of criminal law against protesters. The judge noted that "where ecological preservation intersects with indigenous survival, criminal law cannot be used to suppress legitimate local anxieties." The court argued for dialogue rather than confrontation. It rejected the idea of treating community leaders as external troublemakers.
Government documents link the NSA detention to alleged road blockades, foreign travel, and suspicious transactions. Activists dismiss these as vague and speculative. They argue Doley’s foreign travel involved advocacy for indigenous rights at United Nations forums. The coalition is now demanding the immediate withdrawal of the NSA order, the dropping of all criminal cases, and an independent inquiry into police conduct.
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