Gaurav Gogoi Slams Assam Government Over Activist Detention

Guwahati: Dispur police hauled in activist Pranab Doley on Sunday. He now faces charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Authorities moved him to the Bokakhat Police Station to face a case registered in that jurisdiction. Doley is a vocal critic of luxury hotel construction near Kaziranga National Park. He argues the projects will wreck the local ecosystem and trample the rights of indigenous people.

Gaurav Gogoi, president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, labeled the move an assault on free speech. He linked the detention to the earlier arrest of activist Aditya Rabha. Gogoi claims the BJP-led government prefers handcuffs to public debate. He specifically stated, "Trying to silence voices by sending the police merely because they oppose the government is not the character of Indian democracy."

Doley holds a social work degree from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He has spent years fighting for land rights and conservation. Police insist the detention stems purely from a criminal matter. The arrest has ignited a fierce political firestorm across the state. Critics call it a siege on democracy. Supporters of the projects remain quiet as the legal fight heats up.