Assam police on Sunday arrested land rights activist Pranab Doley in connection with a case registered against him at Bokakhat.
A police officer in Guwahati, requesting anonymity said that Doley was picked up in connection with a case registered against him at Bokakhat police station on June 29 under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including criminal conspiracy, causing hurt to public servant to prevent them from discharging duty, unlawful assembly, rioting, criminal trespass and criminal intimidation.
Doley, who contested the 2021 assembly polls independently, was picked up by a team of Dispur police station in Guwahati from the Sundarpur area.
The 40-year-old convenor of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee (GKLHRPC) vocally opposed proposed luxury hotels near Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR), the largest habitat of the endangered one-horned rhino and a UNESCO world heritage site.
Doley and local residents at Hatikhuli near KNPTR have opposed the construction of a five-star hotel in the area due to concerns about displacement, impact on the environment, and the movement of wild animals, staging protests in recent days against it.
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“What kind of democracy is this if we are not allowed to raise voice of the people? The police who came to arrest me didn’t produce any arrest warrant,” Doley said.
The Assam government announced in 2023 that a luxury hotel will be constructed at Kaziranga.
