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Bengaluru: The Assam government on July 30 invoked the National Security Act against land rights activist Pranab Doley, a day after a local sessions court granted him bail. Doley, therefore, will not yet be released from jail.

On July 29, the Golaghat sessions court had granted bail to four land rights activists including Doley. Doley has actively opposed the upcoming five star luxury hotel Hyatt near Kazairanga National Park in Assam, and had been arrested on July 13 in connection to a protest related to this. 

NSA against land rights activist 

On July 30, the Assam government imposed the NSA on Doley under Section 3(2) of the Act, as per the order accessed by The Wire. The Section empowers the union government or any state government to place a person under preventive detention to prevent actions prejudicial to state security, public order, or to maintain essential community supplies and services in the state.

The order lists several reasons for the detention including a series of criminal cases filed against Doley over the past decade, and that these were “acted in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order” and included assaults on public servants, rioting, organised acts of violence and more. It also said that “it appeared” that Doley had indulged in “suspicious foreign transactions from doubtful sources”. However, this and several other allegations........

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