ASSAM, 1 August 2026 (TON): Human and social rights activist Pranab Doley has been detained by Indian authorities under the National Security Act (NSA), a day after a court granted him bail in a case related to protests against a proposed five-star hotel near Assam's Kaziranga National Park. Now there is no legal obligation to present the detainee before a court of law and Indian authorities can shut the moth of anyone under the NSA.
Doley has been spearheading protests against the proposed five-star hotel near the UNESCO World Heritage Site Kaziranga National Park, alleging that the project threatens the area's fragile ecology. Assam is disputed state and people are struggling for their independence to get rid of Indian atrocities.
Doley, who was arrested in Guwahati on 13 July 2026, and lodged in Golaghat district jail, secured bail from a Sessions Court on Wednesday in connection with a 28 June protest against the hotel project. In violation of court’s orders, the state government invoked the NSA against him on Thursday, ensuring his continued detention in the same jail.
The order issued by the Political (A) Department said the government was satisfied that Doley's activities were "prejudicial to the maintenance of public order as well as security of the state" and that there was a "real and imminent possibility" of him continuing such activities if released. Invoking Section 3(2) of the National Security Act, 1980, the government ordered his preventive detention in Golaghat District Jail.
The NSA empowers the government to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner "prejudicial to the defence of India". A fake case was engineered by the police that Doley and around 50 others had assembled at Rongajan Field on 28 June to protest the project at Ingleng Pathar, and that they were armed with "machetes and other weapons".