The organisations alleged the Assam government invoked the NSA to nullify a court’s bail order and suppress opposition to the proposed Hyatt project near Kaziranga
Guwahati: More than 60 people’s movements, trade unions, civil rights organisations and environmental groups condemned the Assam government’s decision to invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley, calling it a “vindictive” attempt to defeat a court order granting him bail.
In a joint statement, the organisations demanded the immediate revocation of the NSA detention order, the release of Doley and other activists arrested in connection with the Kaziranga land rights movement, and the withdrawal of criminal cases registered against them.
Doley, convenor of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee (GKLHRPC), was arrested in July over protests against a proposed Hyatt luxury hotel project near Kaziranga National Park. Although a Golaghat sessions court granted him bail on July 29, the Assam government invoked the NSA the following day, preventing his release.
The organisations argued that the court had recognised the protests as rooted in environmental concerns and indigenous land rights, observing that criminal law should not be used to suppress legitimate local anxieties.
They also questioned the grounds cited in the detention order, including allegations relating to foreign travel and financial transactions, contending that such matters could be investigated without preventive detention.
Calling the move an attack on democratic dissent, the signatories urged the government to end the use of preventive detention laws against environmental and land rights defenders and ensure greater transparency in land allotments around Kaziranga.
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