Assam activist leading protests against Kaziranga luxury hotels detained

The Assam Police on Sunday (July 12, 2026) detained activist Pranab Doley, who has been leading protests against proposed luxury hotels near the Kaziranga National Park.

Booked under at least 15 sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita registered at the Bokakhat police station, he was taken to Guwahati’s Dispur police station for interrogation. The Kaziranga National Park is administered from Bokakhat, about 240 km east of Guwahati.

“He will be handed over to the Bokakhat police for further legal proceedings,” a police officer said.

Mr. Doley, a resident of a village near Bokakhat, said he was “arrested” without any papers. “We cannot even be the voice of the people. What kind of democracy is this?” he said before he was forced into a police vehicle.

The activist, who had earlier accused Kaziranga officials of killing locals in the name of anti-poaching drives, had been mobilising people to protest the construction of some luxury hotels near the rhino habitat. He had said that these projects would infringe upon the rights of the local communities and block animal corridors.

Mr. Doley is the founder and co-founder of several organisations. These include the All Kaziranga Affected Communities’ Rights Committee, the People Ecology Network, and the Jyoti Bishnu Cultural and Research Centre.

State Congress president and MP Gaurav Gogoi slammed Mr. Doley’s detention, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government of using force to suppress democratic dissent. 

“Trying to silence voices by sending the police merely because they oppose the government is not the character of Indian democracy. While the BJP government speaks of protecting ‘jati-mati-bheti’ (race-land-hearth) and democracy, it simultaneously attempts to suppress dissent through police action,” Mr. Gogoi said.