Citizens protest near Kaziranga, seek release of land rights activist detained under NSA

A group of citizens in Bokakhat town of Assam’s Golaghat district on Saturday (September 5, 2026) demanded the release of land rights activist Pranab Doley, who was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) for opposing the government’s alleged move to evict indigenous farmers near Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve and hand over their land for a luxury hotel and other projects.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Assam government slapped the NSA on the 40-year-old Mr. Doley on July 30, more than a fortnight after arresting him.

The protesters said the local authorities locked the auditorium of a tribal rest house where their meeting was scheduled after administrative clearance had been granted and rent paid, forcing them to shift to an adjacent site. This triggered resentment in the area.

State Congress leaders, participating in the protest, backed the demand for Mr. Doley’s release.

Criticising the State government’s “autocratic tendencies”, Congress leader and former MLA Debabrata Saikia said the ruling dispensation was undermining the Constitution of India and using the police and administrative machinery to intimidate the public.

“Standing up for the rights of the working class and defending one’s ancestral land can never be construed as treason,” he said, pointing out that Mr. Doley had secured bail in an earlier case before he was slapped with the NSA “on unfounded charges of anti-national activity”.

Mr. Saikia accused the administration of stripping citizens of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution.

Citing the displacement of indigenous people at Mikir Bamuni Grant in Nagaon district for Azure Power’s solar project, he said that a similar pattern was unfolding in Kaziranga’s Englepathar to facilitate a luxury hotel within the Eco-Sensitive Zone of the one-horned rhino habitat.

He further criticised the government for allegedly bypassing the compensation mandates of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act, 2013, by offering inadequate payouts from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

Fellow Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha member Ripun Bora criticised the BJP-led government for a “persistent design to transfer indigenous landholdings to capitalists” from outside Assam.