Guwahati: Questions have intensified over the rapid demolition of the ancestral residence of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) Chief Executive Member Tuliram Ronghang, which a mob torched on December 22 during violent protests over land encroachments in Assam.
“Why did authorities demolish Tuliram Ronghang’s fire-gutted house with a bulldozer without allowing police to investigate? Was something buried beneath it?” Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan asked in a social media post on Monday.
A mob set the house in Donkamukam on fire during unrest triggered by demands to evict alleged illegal settlers from Professional Grazing Reserves (PGR) and Village Grazing Reserves (VGR).
The protests, involving hunger strikes and clashes with security forces, escalated after rumours spread that police had arrested demonstrators—later clarified by Ronghang as medical transfers to Guwahati Medical College Hospital.
Reports indicate that authorities used a bulldozer to raze the charred structure shortly after the fire, reportedly without conducting any prior forensic examination or obtaining judicial authorisation under criminal procedure norms.
Neither the authorities nor Ronghang have offered any official explanation for the hurried clearance of the site, which investigators had declared a crime scene in an ongoing arson probe.
Assam Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the demolition raised “serious suspicion of destruction of evidence” under Section 241 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Saikia cited longstanding local allegations of corruption against Ronghang, including alleged misuse of council funds and irregularities in land allotments, and suggested that the demolition may have aimed to conceal potentially incriminating documents.
While AJP general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan accused the BJP-led administration of broader failures in protecting indigenous rights, he also criticised the council’s handling of land issues, linking the unrest to the perceived marginalisation of Karbi communities.
Police investigations into the arson are ongoing, with prohibitory orders and heightened security in place following clashes that injured several protesters and reportedly led to fatalities in related violence.
Ronghang has described the episode as a “tragic misunderstanding” and called for dialogue, but the unexplained bulldozing has fuelled speculation and demands for an independent magisterial probe.
Authorities have not yet responded to queries on whether forensic teams examined the site before the demolition or preserved any evidence.
The incident underscores deepening tensions in the Sixth Schedule area over land protection and governance transparency.