Arya News - One person was killed and another critically injured after police reportedly opened fire on a group of residents resisting the eviction operation.
GUWAHATI – A forest eviction drive in Assam’s Goalpara district turned violent when clashes broke out between security personnel and alleged illegal settlers in the Paikan Reserve Forest on Thursday.
One person was killed and another critically injured after police reportedly opened fire on a group of residents resisting the eviction operation.
The deceased has been identified as Shakuar Hussain, while the injured individual, Kutubuddin Sheikh, is undergoing treatment at a local hospital. The police claimed they fired in self-defence after being attacked by a mob with stones and sticks.
The drive was carried out jointly by the Assam Police and the Forest Department as part of a larger initiative to clear encroachments from protected forest land.
Officials said the eviction team faced stiff resistance near the densely populated localities of Bidyapara and Betbari, where hundreds of families have allegedly settled over the years without valid land documents.
Video footage from the scene shows a chaotic and volatile confrontation — with residents pelting stones, damaging an excavator, and forcing the eviction team to temporarily retreat.
Tensions had been simmering for days despite repeated public notices, patrols, and verbal warnings urging settlers to vacate the area.
According to forest officials, the operation aimed to reclaim more than 140 hectares of encroached land inside the Paikan Reserve Forest, which spans a total of 711 hectares and is considered ecologically critical for the region’s biodiversity.
“The unchecked spread of illegal settlements is threatening the very survival of this reserve. We took all possible precautions, but the intensity of the resistance was beyond anticipated levels,” said a senior forest officer.
The state government has frequently cited the need to protect reserved forests as part of its larger drive against encroachments, often claiming such actions are necessary to safeguard Assam’s land, identity, and environment.
Tensions remain high in the area, with additional security deployed to prevent further escalation. The district administration has yet to confirm if a judicial inquiry will be ordered into the firing incident. Human rights activists have demanded a transparent probe and compensation for the victims.
The Paikan Reserve Forest falls under the Krishnai Range and is part of Assam’s network of protected areas that are crucial for sustaining wildlife corridors and preventing deforestation. Similar eviction drives in other parts of Assam — notably Darrang, Nagaon, and Lakhimpur — have also witnessed violence in recent years, raising questions about the state’s approach to land conflicts and forest rights.