HT DIGITAL
GUWAHATI, JULY 17: A eviction drive conducted by the Assam Police and the Forest Department together in Goalpara’s Paikan Reserve Forest turned bloody on Wednesday morning, claiming the life of one individual and injuring another after police allegedly fired at purported encroachers.
The violence erupted when a big contingent of locals, who were accused of settling on forest land illegally, allegedly retaliated against the eviction team’s advance. The incident took a quick turn for the worse with some of the people in the crowd attacking police officers and trying to stop the operation. Police opened fire in a bid to disperse the crowd after being faced with rising hostility. One was shot dead, and another was injured. The police officers are also said to have been injured, although this is not clear.
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The victim has been named as Shakuar Hussain, while the other injured person is Kutubuddin Sheikh. The police said the use of firearms was in self-defence after the eviction team members were reportedly under direct attack.
Imaginative images from the scene captured the disarray as protesters hurled stones at the eviction squad and attacked an excavator that had been brought in to clear out the encroached area. Some were observed armed with sticks and pursuing members of the eviction team. Footage shared on social media depicts the police in retreat under a hail of stones, trying to hold on in the midst of the mayhem.
The eviction campaign was initiated to remove over 140 hectares of illegally settled land in the Paikan Reserve Forest, which comes under the Krishnai range. The encroached lands, such as Bidyapara and Betbari, are allegedly settled by families with no legal titles for many years.
Authorities have been preparing the eviction for days with increased patrols and repeated public announcements by loudspeakers, calling on residents to leave the land voluntarily ahead of the final deadline. The warnings have yet to defuse the tensions.
Paikan Reserve Forest covers a total of 711 hectares, with more than 140 hectares reportedly encroached. Forest authorities argue that the illegal settlements have critically endangered the fragile ecosystem, justifying the need for reclamation on an urgent basis.”.
