Even as forest staff in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) continued with their non-cooperation protest over the Tuesday assault of a senior forester and other employees,the suspected attackers MLAs Jiten Gogoi of Bokakhat and Kushal Duwori of Thowra constituency remained scot-free. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogois statement on Thursday that arresting an MLA takes time clearly holds water. KNP divisional forest officer Dibyadhar Gogoi said the forest staff have agreed to resume their duties on Friday,but would continue to register their protest until the Government takes action against the errant MLAs. On Thursday,visitors to the park returned disappointed,but the staff continued with their wildlife protection duties. The two Independent MLAs both former ULFA militants had on Tuesday entered KNP to do some fishing along with their associates. When forest protection guards led by award-winning range officer Dharanidhar Boro objected,they were assaulted by the armed intruders. After threatening to kill Boro with AK-47 rifles,the trespassers escaped,but not before they damaged park property and broke road barriers. The range officer has filed two FIRs against the MLAs under the Wildlife Protection Act and Indian Penal Code. Various NGOs including Aaranyak,Ecosystems India,WWF-India,Dolphin Foundation and Kalpavriksh have strongly condemned the actions of the MLAs and have demanded immediate arrest of the duo. The accused persons have violated the Wildlife Protection Act by indulging in illegal fishing inside a national park,entering a protected area with arms and ammunition without permission,obstructing and attacking the forest officials on duty,and damaging property of a national park. We also express our solidarity with the officials and staff of Kaziranga National Park and vow to fight unitedly to bring the accused to justice, said the NGOs in a joint press release here on Thursday.
