New Delhi: Sakowar Ali’s house was demolished Saturday during an eviction drive in Paikan Reserve Forest area of lower Assam’s Goalpara. Five days later, he returned to the eviction site to rummage through the rubble to look for anything that could be of use to the family, now forced into a tent. When he reached the site where his home once stood, Sakowar’s family members say he saw police officers digging up the road that led to the settlement. He, along with as many as a hundred others, many of whom were still living at the eviction site in makeshift tents, confronted the authorities and a clash followed.
The police opened fire and a bullet hit Sakowar, who died on the spot. Several police personnel too were injured in the clash. “As soon as the clashes erupted, police started firing and Ali was hit by a bullet near his ear. He died on the spot,” his maternal uncle Rafiqul Islam told ThePrint over the phone. There was no police reaction on the matter yet.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma blamed the incident on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying that during his visit to the state the previous day he “encouraged encroachers to occupy forest land”. Sarma wrote on X that a “violent mob attacked our police and forest personnel” while attempting to forcibly encroach upon the Paikan Reserve Forest.
“In the line of duty, 21 brave police officers and forest guards suffered grievous injuries. Left with no choice, the police had to open fire to restore order—leading to the unfortunate death of one encroacher,” he wrote.
Rahul Gandhi came to Assam and openly encouraged encroachers to occupy forest land. Emboldened by his reckless words, today a violent mob attacked our police and forest personnel while attempting to forcefully encroach upon the Paikan Reserve Forest.
In the line of duty, 21…
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 17, 2025
Sakowar’s uncle Rafiqul Islam said his body was taken to the Goalpara Civil Hospital by the police for autopsy. “Ali was the youngest in his family. Since the day his house was demolished, he was roaming around from one relative’s house to the other’s.”
Besides police personnel, three others were injured in the clashes. One of them, a 21-year-old man, was critically injured and has been shifted to a hospital in Guwahati, said Rafiqul.
Sakowar, he said, became the victim of “larger violence” against Muslims in Assam. “If you go anywhere in Assam right now, you see that Muslims are being treated badly,” he said, adding that Sakowar supported his family by working at his father’s small grocery store.
ThePrint reached Krishnai and Goalpara police stations for comment via phone calls, but officials there declined to comment. ThePrint also reached the Assam Police Control Room but was told that no official was available to speak as they were busy responding to the situation. The report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Last Saturday, earth movers rolled down the Paikan Reserve Forest, bulldozing the homes of 1,080 families, mostly Bengali-origin Muslims, who had settled on 140 hectares of land in the area.
In a post on X Wednesday, CM Sarma had said the crackdown on “illegal infiltrators” would continue. “EVICTIONS WILL CONTINUE, Safeguarding our forests and land rights of the indigenous people WILL CONTINUE, crackdown on illegal infiltrators WILL CONTINUE,” he wrote.
Earlier this week, Sarma also said that nearly 50,000 people have been evicted from about 160 sq km of land since he took office.
Rafiqul, who also lost his house in the eviction drive at Paikan Reserve Forest area last week, said those affected by it had been living in the area for generations. “I myself have lived here for as long as I can recall,” he told ThePrint over the phone Thursday, adding the eviction and its aftermath have those affected worried for their present and future.
“My sister (Sakowar’s mother) not only lost her house but also her youngest son,” he said. “His (Sakowar’s) home was taken away from him, he at least deserves justice.”
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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