New Delhi: Residents of a Muslim-majority village in Assam’s Karimganj parliamentary constituency have approached a local court against nine Assam forest department officials for allegedly threatening them to either vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate or get ready for eviction with the help of bulldozers.
Among the nine forest officials named is M.K. Yadava, the special chief secretary of forest. The BJP candidate is Kripanath Mallah. The seat is going to polls today, April 26.
The petitioners belonging to the Butukusi village in Hailakandi district, have sought from the court of the chief judicial magistrate of Karimganj an order for an “impartial enquiry” on their alleged “criminal intimidation” prior to voting by engaging “an independent authority”.
Also read: Assam Forest Official Replaced 2 Days After The Wire’s Report on Misuse of Funds for Kovind Visit
M.K. Yadava
Yadava is a controversial Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer. He had retired as the state’s chief conservator of forests and the chief wildlife warden of the state’s forests in February 2024. Curiously – especially considering that the crucial general elections were approaching – he was immediately reappointed by the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government as the special chief secretary (forest).
M. K. Yadava. Photo: Screengrab via YouTube/Digitial India.
His re-appointment created an uproar in Assam due to his alleged involvement in several incidents of corruption including the misuse funds for tiger conservation and the exponential inflation of bills during the visit of Ram Nath Kovind, then the President of India, to the Kaziranga National Park in March 2023. That controversy had forced the Sarma government to remove him temporarily from the post of the principal conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden of the state.
Soon after his re-appointment, Congress MLA and the leader of opposition at Assam assembly, Debabrat Saikia, had written to governor Gulab Chand Katari citing 10 reasons why Yadava should not have been appointed by the Assam government.
Among Saikia’s points were allegations of tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs) which took place allegedly while Yadava was serving as the managing director of AEDCL-AMTRON, a state-owned company that supplies these machines for the general elections. CM Sarma, then in Congress, was the Amtron chairman. Yadava is seen as close to Sarma in Assam.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Saikia’s Amtron reference in the letter was to 2009 when the state’s opposition parties, primarily the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), now an ally of the BJP in Assam, had expressed concerns over EVM tampering under Yadava.
Allegations of abuse, coercion
The April 24 petition at the Karimganj CJM’s court was filed by Soidul Ali, Dilwar Hussain, Mojmun Nehar, and Alimun Nesa, all residents of Butukusi village within the jurisdiction of the Ratabari police station of Hailakandi district.
Along with Yadava, those named were: Silchar chief conservator of forests Rajiv Kumar Das, Hailakhandi forest division’s district forest officer Akhil Dutta, IFS officer and Cachar division DFO Vijay Timbak Palve, Cherangi range’s Ratabari deputy in-charge Monoj Sinha, Cherangi range forester Ajit Paul, Dullavcheera beat officer Faiz Ahmed Borbhuya, Cherangi forest guard Tapas Das, Cherangi beat officer Abdoon Nur, and Cherangi forest guard Faizuddin Laskar.
The petition also stated that there were “many other forest staff, police personnel, Assam Police commandos/Forest force in black attire, a total of 40/45 persons of all names in all, names and address of all those are not known.”
The complainants have categorically stated in their appeal to the court that there has been similar intimidation by those officials in neighbouring Muslim-majority villages too since April 21. They wrote:
“Since last three days, the accused along with Assam Police commando/Forest force in 40/45 numbers in black attire, armed police, armed forest guards are going house to house in day and night at Butukusi, Rongpur, Cherangi, Jalalavad, Nivia, Sonapur, Kalamagura, Kalagang, Vittor Balia, Balia, Kamor Ma, Chuto Balia, Boro Balia, Gua Ura, Choutish, Monistopur, Monpur, Dolugang, under the Ratabari police area, and the Bilapur area of Hailakandi district, and Lowaipoa, Nagra, Kotamoni, Patiala, Isarpar, Zerzeri, Bali Pipla, Longai area of Patharkandi area, and asking the residents of the houses, calling them out from (of) the house, taking photographs of their house/residential rooms, keeping them standing in front of their house, asking them to vote for the BJP candidate Kripanath Mallah or they will be evicted from their house by bulldozer after June 7, 2024 (the counting votes for the general elections.”
The petition also stated that the accused addressed “us/those people using abusive and insulting languages, like refugees, bangalor baal hokol (those Bengalis from Bengal), etc. and asked to vote for BJP candidate and also said if we want to reside in our houses peacefully and happily, then we have to vote for the BJP candidate, or we will be evicted…”
The petitioners also told the court that they have a number of photographs and video clips of the incident and urged that those “may be allowed to be produced for the proper trial of the case”.
Calling it “a criminal intimidation and insult deliberately committed by the accused,” they have sought an impartial inquiry on the matter by engaging an independent authority.
Reporting on the incident, Assamese daily Axomiya Pratidin said that as per the villagers, the accused also identified houses standing for “the last 50-60 years” built on forest land. “As per the petitioners, they have enough evidence to show to the court the intimidation by the state government officials on behalf of the ruling party”.
Train cancellations
Since the matter has been reported in local media on the voting day, The Wire tried contacting the State Election Commission but has so far failed to get a response.
The Wire has also sought a response from the Election Commission on the sudden cancellation of as many as six trains heading to Silchar on the voting day. The cancellation of these trains by the North East Frontier Railway on April 25 would force thousands of voters to stay away from voting today in the Silchar and Karimganj parliamentary constituencies.
As per a NF railway release, the trains were cancelled because of the derailment of a goods wagon on the route.
While BJP’s Kripanath Mallah is seeking a re-election from the Karimgang LS seat, state minister Parimal Suklavaidya is trying his luck at the Silchar constituency.
As per news reports, while BJP’s prospects in the Bengali Hindu majority Silchar seat is bright, Congress’ candidate Hafiz Rashid Choudhury is a frontrunner in Karimganj. Earlier a reserved seat for Scheduled Caste candidates, post delimitation of constituencies in Assam, the Karimganj Lok Sabha seat has given the Muslim community an opening to see an MP from within the community as a candidate these elections.
