Kaziranga Activist Held for Opposing Luxury Hotels

Assam police detained activist Pranab Doley on Sunday, July 12, 2026, for leading protests against the construction of luxury hotels near the Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and critical habitat for the one-horned rhinoceros.

Doley was booked under at least 15 sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Bokakhat police station, which has jurisdiction over the park, located about 240 km east of Guwahati. He was taken to the Dispur police station in Guwahati for interrogation before being handed over to Bokakhat police for further legal proceedings, a police officer confirmed.

“He will be handed over to the Bokakhat police for further legal proceedings,” the officer said, declining to elaborate on the specific charges.

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

The activist has been mobilising local communities against the proposed luxury hotels, arguing that the projects would encroach on animal corridors and infringe upon the rights of indigenous groups. He had earlier accused Kaziranga officials of killing locals under the guise of anti-poaching operations.

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

Gaurav Gogoi, state Congress president and Member of Parliament, condemned the detention, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government of suppressing 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,” Gogoi said.

The Kaziranga National Park, located in the floodplains of the Brahmaputra River, is home to the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses. Environmentalists and local groups have long opposed commercial development near the park, citing threats to wildlife corridors and the livelihoods of nearby communities. Legal proceedings in the case are ongoing.