ITANAGAR, 13 Jul: The Assam Police on Sunday arrested Pranab Doley, a prominent land rights leader and active member of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee, in connection with Bokakhat PS Case No 108/2026.
The non-bailable case has been registered under various sections of the BNS over the 28 June incident at the ATDC Hyat Project site in Kohora, the Bokakhat police said.
According to police, around 50 people, including Doley and members of various organisations, assembled at Rongajan field on 28 June to discuss the ongoing government project at Ingleng Pathar. After the meeting, the gathering allegedly proceeded to the Tea Tribes Museum site and the nearby ATDC Hyat Project premises. The group allegedly trespassed into the project site and removed survey materials and threatened construction workers. One woman officer also sustained grievous injuries, police said.
Police also alleged outraging the modesty of women police personnel.
The FIR further stated that, after being instigated by several accused, including Doley, the group staged a sit-in protest and refused to vacate despite directions from police and the executive magistrate.
Doley has been named as a mastermind behind the unlawful assembly.
The Northeast Human Rights Organisation (NEHRO) strongly condemned Doley’s arrest and demanded his immediate release.
NEHRO chairperson and human rights activist Ebo Mili termed Doley’s arrest disturbing and a part of the ongoing trend in Assam, “where social workers and activists advocating the rights of indigenous communities and educating people about their land rights are being targeted with false cases and arrested in an arbitrary manner.”
He said Doley had previously been harassed by the police on multiple occasions over the same matter.
“The repeated actions by the Assam Police against such activists reflect a systematic pattern of intimidation and suppression,” Mili said.
Mili said Doley has consistently been fighting alongside 45 Adivasi families in Kaziranga to defend their ancestral land and has been leading peaceful protests against a powerful corporate group.
He urged the Assam government to listen to the legitimate concerns of the Adivasi people and engage in a peaceful dialogue, rather than resorting to brute police force to silence or suppress democratic movements.
Mili said the deployment of nearly 100 police personnel to arrest a single activist, who has been under constant surveillance, only highlights the insecurity and fear of the state machinery.
“We stand in solidarity with the Adivasi communities of Kaziranga and will continue to raise our voice against any form of repression and violation of human rights,” Mili added.
