Four arrested as Silsako eviction protest flares; women launch sit-in at Dispur PS
The arrests came after evictees assembled at Silsako on Wednesday evening, demanding rehabilitation & compensation for homes demolished during eviction
Silsako protestors in front of Dispur Police Station (AT Image)
Guwahati, Nov 13: The Dispur Police, on Thursday, arrested four men in connection with a protest that broke out near the Silsako wetland eviction site on Wednesday evening.
The four arrested, identified as Lalon Roy, Chamet Ali, Chan Mohammad Kurchi Alam and Phulbor Ali, were booked under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which prohibits gatherings or protests of five or more people without prior permission.
“They are expected to be produced before a magistrate soon,” an official told The Assam Tribune.
Meanwhile, several women evictees and families of the arrested have begun a sit-in outside Dispur Police Station, calling for the immediate release of the four.
“The four men they detained are not criminals or terrorists. We were protesting peacefully,” one protestor said, alleging that police should “go after serious offenders, not common citizens fighting for their land”.
The arrests followed a protest on Wednesday evening when evictees gathered at Silsako seeking rehabilitation and adequate compensation for their demolished homes.
Tensions rose after police personnel arrived and a brief scuffle reportedly broke out, leading to the detention of 18 people, including 14 women.
The 14 women were taken to Panbazar Police Station and later released.
A protestor who was detained recounted, “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 night, women from the eviction-hit families approached Dispur Police Station seeking updates on the four men but alleged that officials did not respond.
“They didn’t even acknowledge our concerns,” a protestor claimed.
Detainees also alleged their mobile phones were taken without consent. “They have no right to check or hold our phones without permission,” one protestor said.
Residents displaced by the Silsako eviction have been protesting for the past four years, demanding proper compensation and resettlement.
In 2021, soon after the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government assumed office, an eviction drive under a wetlands-clearing project displaced about 1,200 households.
Families say they have since received neither adequate compensation nor alternative land.
Residents have been claiming that they have submitted over 50 memorandums to the Chief Minister and senior ministers, but have only received verbal assurances with no concrete action.