OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOKRAJHAR: A police raid at the residence of controversial businessman Sanjan Pal in the Patharghat area was conducted. The raid, conducted by Kokrajhar Police based on an FIR filed by the All-Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS), Kokrajhar district committee on May 5, resulted in the recovery of iron grills and tin sheets reportedly stolen from the under-construction office of the All-Assam Tribal Sangha and Brahma Dharma.
The recovered materials, which include boundary grills, doors and window frames and roofing sheets, were identified as parts of the construction work for the Tribal Sangha’s district office. The incident has sparked widespread concern among local residents, especially indigenous tribal communities, who see the act as a direct attack on their institutions and identity.
Kokrajhar District Tribal Sangha has strongly condemned the theft of properties and police inaction and alleged that the businessman deliberately targeted their office premises, with deeper intentions tied to ongoing land disputes.
Talking to mediapersons at the under-construction site of AATS office-cum-Rest House at Pattarghat in Kokrajhar town on Monday, president of Kokrajhar district AATS Anil Basumatary said that properties of the existing building of the AATS were stolen away by thieves every day. He said that the tin sheets of the rooftop, window frames, and grills were taken away while the concrete posts and railing were broken and the irons taken away without any resistance. He said that they had doubts over the role of businessman Sanjan Pal as the police team recovered the stolen materials from his plot of land attached to the construction site of Tribal Rest House, which he had been trying to grab after the Indian Army deserted the premises when peace returned to Kokrajhar.
Basumatary also said that Pal had been trying to grab the land with the false allegation that the allotment of land to AATS was illegal. The AATS clarified that the Government of BTR allotted the plot of land measuring 2 bigha, 2 khata, and 15 lecha under Kokrajhar Revenue Circle vide No. KRC 13/2019/8, dated 13 November, 2024 after spot survey by Circle Officer and Secretary of BTC and that the foundation stone for the construction of office of the AATS and Tribal Rest House was inaugurated by MLA Lawrence Islary in the same year. Basumatary said that no indigenous tribal people would compromise with Pal’s greedy intention but would launch protest programmes involving all tribal organizations against him if the situation so desires.
Basumatary alleged that the police were not interested to register a case against Pal but asked for proof of Pal’s involvement in the stealing of properties. He said that despite the recovery of the stolen materials in the premises of Pal’s plot of land, Pal was neither arrested nor called for questioning. He questioned the role of police and demanded that the district administration must be serious on the issue and that the police should initiate action against him.
Pal’s name previously surfaced in various land scam controversies in the region. His activities have drawn sharp criticism due to alleged illegal land acquisitions and encroachments. Questions have also been raised about his citizenship and long-standing disputes with indigenous groups, intensifying the current situation. The AATS has also demanded that his possession of tribal lands should be scanned properly. They further said that law should be applied equally and that there was no question of compromise if a rule violator was maintaining links with politicians and religious agents. The incident has raised pressing questions about the protection of land and rights of indigenous tribal bodies in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). The Tribal Sangha, known for its apolitical advocacy of the rights and welfare of land-owning tribal communities, has condemned the aggression and urged the administration to take strict legal action.
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