SILCHAR: Prohibitory orders were issued in Assam’s Karbi Anglong, and West Karbi Anglong districts on Monday after protesters demanding the eviction of alleged encroachers from protected grazing land clashed with security forces and set an ancestral house of the chief of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) Tuliram Ronghang.
The arson followed clashes between protesters and security forces. Police said at least four persons – three protesters and a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan – were injured.
Police said several houses, shops and public properties were vandalised or torched in parts of Kheroni and nearby areas as the situation appeared to spiral out of control. The unrest later spread to Dongkamokam, Ronghang’s constituency, where protesters marched to his ancestral residence and set it ablaze.
Ronghang, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in the state, said his elderly father, who is usually at home, had stepped out when the mob attacked his house, and only security personnel were stationed there.
The agitation for the removal of the alleged encroachers escalated after nine protesters, including a youth leader, were picked up by the authorities from an indefinite hunger strike site in Kheroni. The hunger strike, now in its 16th day, demands the eviction of alleged illegal settlers from Village Grazing Reserves (VGRs) and Professional Grazing Reserves (PGRs).
The authorities said they had been shifted to the hospital. But rumours of their detention prompted large crowds to come out on Monday morning, blocking roads, vandalising vehicles and clashing with security personnel. Police said they fired blank rounds to control the mob, but tensions intensified, culminating in the attack on Ronghang’s residence.
The agitation centres on the alleged encroachment of nearly 7,184.7 acres of protected grazing land in Karbi Anglong.
Protesters argue that, under the Sixth Schedule provisions, land ownership by non-protected communities is prohibited and that outsiders have encroached upon large tracts of land in violation of the provisions.
According to Ronghang, eviction drives started in some areas in 2024 were put on hold after the affected residents moved the Gauhati High Court.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said some protesters on hunger strike were shifted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital after their health deteriorated, and alleged that misinformation about their detention fuelled public anger.
“The administration cannot carry out an eviction when there is a court order,” Sarma said, adding that violence would only complicate dialogue. He said the government remained open to talks and would raise the matter with higher authorities.
Following the violence, the district administrations of Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong imposed prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. The orders prohibit the assembly of five or more persons, rallies, processions, and public meetings; ban inflammatory speeches and the use of loudspeakers without permission; and restrict the carrying of firearms or explosives.
Movement of individuals and private vehicles has also been restricted from 5 pm to 6 am, with exemptions for emergency and essential services.
Assam director general of police (DGP) Harmeet Singh reached Karbi Anglong, while education minister Ranoj Pegu was also scheduled to visit the district to engage with protesters, the chief minister said.