Guwahati: Indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley has been placed under preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA) by the Assam government, just a day after securing bail from a Golaghat court. The detention, which came into effect on August 1, stems from his involvement in protests against a proposed Hyatt hotel project near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park.
Doley was initially arrested in Guwahati on July 12 in connection with a protest held on June 28 at Ingle Pathar. Demonstrators at the site had raised serious concerns, alleging that the proposed hotel project posed a significant threat to the fragile ecology of Kaziranga and infringed upon the rights of local communities residing in the vicinity.
The Assam government's Political (A) Department invoked Section 3(2) of the National Security Act, 1980, on July 30, directing Doley's continued detention at Golaghat District Jail. The official order stated that the government was convinced Doley's activities were “prejudicial to the maintenance of public order as well as security of the State.” Furthermore, it cited a “real and imminent possibility” of him continuing such activities if released, concluding that ordinary criminal law mechanisms were “insufficient to prevent him from continuing such activities,” thereby necessitating preventive detention.
This move underscores the state's stringent stance on activities deemed to disrupt public order, particularly in sensitive environmental zones like Kaziranga.
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