Close on the heels of Assam Government’s warning, the police have arrested farmers’ leader and prominent RTI activist Akhil Gogoi for allegedly inciting a mob during last month’ eviction drive in three villages located inside Kaziranga national park, which led to killing of two civilians and injury of several others.
The Assam police arrested the farmers’ leader from the office of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), the organization he leads, at Guwahati on Sunday. He was later taken to Nagaon district where a case was registered against him. Gogoi was arrested immediately after he addressed a Press conference challenging the cops to arrest him.
A senior officer of Nagaon Police said that Gogoi was arrested under Sections 147, 148, 149, 120-b, 333, 307 and 435 of the IPC.
It may be mentioned here that the Gauhati High court had instructed the civil administration to clear the eviction from inside the national park area. However, hundreds of people of the area came out to oppose the eviction drive carried out by Nagaon district administration leading violence and two people were killed in the violence.
The State Government believes that some ‘forces’ had incited the mob to oppose the eviction drive to politicise the eviction. Gogoi was one of the persons who had frequented the village ahead of the eviction drive and incited the mob, the Government believes.
The farmers’ leader had also gone into hiding following the incident of violence. However, he convened a Press conference at the KMSS office on Sunday. During the Press conference, he had charged the BJP led Assam Government with indulging in communal politics in the name of eviction. He had also appealed to the police to arrest him.