Guwahati: Police on Sunday morning arrested Assam’s land rights activist Pranab Doley, who has been leading opposition to the proposed construction of luxury hotels near Kaziranga National Park.
Police sources said he was picked up by a team from the Dispur Police Station from a rented accommodation in the Sundarpur area of Guwahati.
In a video circulating on social media, Doley was seen being shoved into a police van.
“The police picked me up without giving any reason or prior notice. If we cannot raise even a single voice for the people, what kind of democracy is this? The police have kidnapped me like a goon. Himanta Biswa Sharma’s dictatorship will not work,” Doley told television reporters as police officers pushed him into the van.
Police said Doley was arrested in connection with a case registered at Bokakhat Police Station under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 61(2), 62, 74, 121(1), 121(2), 132, 190, 191(2), 191(3), 221, 324(2), 326(G), 329(3) and 351(3).
He is currently being held at Dispur Police Station. A team from Bokakhat Police Station is expected to take him into custody and escort him to Bokakhat.
His friends and supporters alleged that the police have not allowed anyone to meet him at Dispur Police Station.
The police have also seized his mobile phone.
Doley, convenor of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee (GKLHRPC), has been spearheading protests against the alleged transfer of land to the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) for a proposed five-star hotel project near the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The arrest comes amid an ongoing legal battle over the project. In June, the Gauhati High Court issued notices to the ATDC while hearing a petition filed by 20 Adivasi farming families challenging the proposed hotel project.
The petitioners have alleged that land cultivated by them for generations has been earmarked for the project without due process. They claim to possess land records and revenue receipts dating back decades and have accused the authorities of fencing the land and initiating possession without their consent.
They have also alleged that mandatory environmental and social impact assessments were not conducted.
Doley and the GKLHRPC have maintained that the proposed project threatens both the livelihoods of indigenous communities and the fragile ecology of Kaziranga.
The group has argued that the land serves as a grazing area and flood refuge for wildlife and has demanded that all construction activities be halted until the land dispute is resolved.
Police had earlier surrounded Doley’s residence in Guwahati’s Sundarpur locality before taking him into custody.
The reason for his arrest was not immediately known, and an official statement from Assam Police was awaited at the time of filing this report.
Doley’s arrest has sparked outrage among the affected farmers in Kaziranga.