Eviction aftermath turns violent in Assam; 1 dead, several policemen injured

“The forest team and police were carrying out their patrolling in the evicted area, and the locals attacked people on official duty. Around 10 constables were injured, and there has also been property damage, which we are taking stock of. They had to use force to disperse the people, which included firing. In that, three of the locals were hit by bullets. One of them has died, and two others are under treatment,” said IGP (Law & Order) Akhilesh Singh.

The person who died has been identified as 19-year-old Shakwar Ali.

According to the Conservator of Forests, Central Assam Circle, Sunnydeo Indradeo Choudhury, the forest department had aimed to cut off all entry points except one to the eviction site to stop people from entering into the site.

“Even after the eviction, the people had continued to sit in the same place, and they had asked for some time since there is a hearing in the High Court on July 21 in which they had been expecting some order on rehabilitation. From a humanitarian perspective, we were letting them continue staying there for some time. However, we noticed that the number of people was increasing gradually and we suspect that even other people not from the settlement were coming in so that they could claim rehabilitation. Since there are four entry points to the site, we were trying to cut off three so that we would only have the man one. While personnel were working on this, the locals got aggressive and attacked personnel,” he said. He also said that three forest personnel had been injured.

After this incident, he said, the department removed all the makeshift structures and tarpaulin tents from the site to clear it completely.

Manik Chan, the uncle of the 19-year-old who was killed, said the road digging activity had caused panic and tension among the locals.

“The families here are poor and do not have anywhere to go. So, they continued to stay in difficult conditions, with heat and rain. Every day, the police and forest guards have been coming and telling everyone to leave the area, but we asked for more time. On Thursday morning, when people saw a JCB breaking the road through which they would move in and out and get access to food and water, they started protesting against it,” he said.

Around 1,000 security personnel were deployed during the eviction drive in July. “After the eviction, we had withdrawn some of the forces. Now, we have mobilised additional forces to man the area,” said IGP Singh.

The Goalpara eviction was the latest in a series of evictions conducted in the state over the past month, affecting four districts, where over 3,300 people have been evicted. This week, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that around 50,000 people have been evicted from approximately 160 square kilometres of land since his government took office in 2021.

Local MP Rakibul Hussain and MLA Abul Kalam Rasheed Alam, both from the Congress, visited the affected families on Thursday evening and attended the final rites of the deceased.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma sought to hold Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had visited Assam the previous day, responsible for the developments on Thursday.

“Rahul Gandhi came to Assam and openly encouraged encroachers to occupy forest land. Emboldened by his reckless words, today a violent mob attacked our police and forest personnel while attempting to forcefully encroach upon the Paikan Reserve Forest… This is the disastrous legacy of Rahul Gandhi’s one-day visit to Assam. His irresponsible rhetoric has directly endangered lives and disrupted peace in our state. The people of Assam will neither forget nor forgive this betrayal,” he wrote in a social media post.