“The investigating officer from Bokakhat is travelling to Guwahati, and he (Doley) will be handed over. It is in connection with some incidents from some time back,” said a police officer.

Doley had contested the Assembly election earlier this year from the Bokakhat constituency as an Independent, and is the convenor of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Committee, which has been leading protests against a proposed luxury hotel project near the national park. The protests raised concerns about the potential ecological impact of the project and about the displacement of indigenous villagers.

“Around two weeks ago, there was a confrontation with the police during a protest of the locals of Hathikuli in Bokakhat. We have not been informed of the reason for the detention, but we think it could be connected to this,” said Subrat Talukdar, convenor of Bhumi Adhikar Joutha Sangram Samiti, which has also been part of these protests.

Political criticism

Opposition leaders condemned Doley’s detention, with Sivasagar MLA and Raijor Dal leader accusing the BJP government of “putting tribal people in jail for the sake of capitalists”.

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi called it “an attempt to silence any voice critical of the government and turn citizens into mute spectators”.

“In a democracy, people are free to raise their voices against the policies of the ruling government… The actions of this government only expose the hollowness of the BJP’s claims of protecting indigenous rights in Assam,” he said.