The Dispur Police arrested four men on Thursday following a protest that escalated near the Silsako wetland eviction site on Wednesday evening. The arrested men, identified as Lalon Roy, Chamet Ali, Chan Mohammad Kurchi Alam, and Phulbor Ali, were charged under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which prohibits gatherings of five or more individuals without prior approval. According to an official, the men are expected to be presented before a magistrate shortly.
In response, several women evicted from their homes and family members of the detainees initiated a sit-in outside the Dispur Police Station, demanding their immediate release. “The four men they detained are not criminals or terrorists. We were protesting peacefully,” one protestor stated, urging police to target “serious offenders, not common citizens fighting for their land.”
This unrest followed a gathering of evictees at Silsako, where they rallied for rehabilitation and adequate compensation for their destroyed homes. Tensions escalated when police arrived, resulting in a brief altercation that led to the detention of 18 individuals, including 14 women. The women were subsequently taken to the Panbazar Police Station and later released.
A detained protestor recounted the events, saying, “We had set up a peaceful protest camp… Suddenly a large group of police personnel arrived and took all of us to the stations.” Later that evening, women representing the evicted families sought updates on the four detained men but reported that officials did not respond to their inquiries. “They didn’t even acknowledge our concerns,” one protestor claimed.
Additionally, the detainees alleged that their mobile phones were confiscated without consent. “They have no right to check or hold our phones without permission,” another protestor argued. Residents displaced by the Silsako eviction have been protesting for the past four years, demanding proper compensation and resettlement.
In 2021, shortly after the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government came into power, an eviction drive related to a wetlands-clearing project displaced approximately 1,200 households.
Families affected by the eviction say they have yet to receive adequate compensation or alternative land. They assert that they have submitted over 50 memorandums to the Chief Minister and senior ministers but have only been met with verbal reassurances and no tangible action.
