More than sixty organisations, encompassing people's movements, trade unions, civil rights groups, and environmental bodies, have collectively denounced the Assam government's decision to invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against Indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley. The groups voiced strong disapproval, characterising the move as a “vindictive” attempt to keep Doley imprisoned despite a court having granted him bail.
A joint press statement released on Monday highlighted that the NSA detention order was served on Doley’s family on July 31, precisely while his bail formalities were in progress. This timing, according to the signatories, amounted to a “blatant attempt to circumvent the process of law,” raising serious questions about the state's actions.
The collective statement urgently called for the immediate revocation of the preventive detention order against Doley, who serves as the convenor of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee (GKLHRPC). Furthermore, the groups demanded the withdrawal of all criminal cases lodged against Doley and other activists involved in protests concerning a proposed luxury resort project near the ecologically sensitive Kaziranga National Park.
Doley was initially arrested on July 12 in connection with a case related to these protests. The invocation of the stringent NSA against a land rights activist has drawn significant criticism, prompting a wide array of civil society groups to call for adherence to legal principles and the protection of activists' rights in Assam.
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