Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: International rights groups and the University of Arizona are demanding the release of Indigenous activist Pranab Doley. Police arrested the Mising community leader on July 12 in Guwahati. He was detained at a residence in the Sundarpur area without an arrest warrant. About 100 officers carried out the operation. They seized his phone and blocked him from contacting supporters.
Doley serves as the convener of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee. He is a prominent voice against a luxury Hyatt hotel project planned for Inglay Pathar near Kaziranga National Park. The case stems from a June 29 filing at the Bokakhat Police Station. Officers moved him from Dispur Police Station to Bokakhat custody shortly after his capture.
Assam Police charged Doley with 13 offenses under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. These include criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly, and criminal trespass. Police also searched his ancestral home while hunting for committee member Rajiv Pegu. The University of Arizona’s Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program stated: "We call for his immediate and unconditional release and for the withdrawal of all charges arising from the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and to defend the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples."
Indigenous Peoples Rights International joined the call for his release. They noted he faces three non-bailable charges. Doley holds a Master’s degree from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He has spent years fighting for land rights and sustainable development. Supporters now want the National Human Rights Commission and United Nations bodies to monitor the situation. They demand an end to all land acquisition for the tourism project until legal proceedings resolve.
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