One person was killed and another critically injured after Assam Police allegedly opened fire on protesters during an eviction drive in the Paikan area of Goalpara district, as a joint operation by the Assam Police and Forest Department in the Paikan Reserve Forest turned violent on Thursday, Kerala-based Maktoob Media reports.

The deceased has been identified as Qutub-uddin Sheikh, while another individual, who sustained serious injuries, was rushed to a hospital in Guwahati for treatment, according to NorthEast Live.

According to reports, tensions escalated when evicted settlers, primarily Bengali-speaking Muslims, resisted by pelting stones and attacking security personnel with sticks and sharp weapons.

In Assam’s Goalpara district, the clearing of 140 hectares of land in the Paikan Reserve Forest led to the displacement of 1,080 families, mostly Bengali-origin Muslims, though residents asserted they had been living there long before the area was declared a reserved forest.

This eviction follows the demolition of homes belonging to 690 families in Hasilabeel, a wetland near Goalpara town, on June 16.

This incident comes as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday declared that the crackdown on what he called “illegal infiltrators” will continue, reinforcing the government’s hardline stance on the protesters.

“EVICTIONS WILL CONTINUE, Safeguarding our forests and land rights of the indigenous people WILL CONTINUE, crackdown on illegal infiltrators WILL CONTINUE,” he wrote on X.

On July 8, while addressing the evictions in Kokrajhar, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated, “If anyone has a problem with the removal of 350 illegal Bangladeshis, they will have to bear it,” implying that opposition to the evictions would not deter the government’s actions, even if force is used. 

The following day, on July 9, he reiterated his stance, warning that anti-encroachment drives would continue in full swing and that anyone threatening violence would be dealt with “accordingly.”

Earlier, Congress President condemned the eviction, alleging it was a targeted attack on Bengali-speaking Muslims. He criticized the demolition of 2,000 homes in Dhubri and Goalpara, calling it a “state-sponsored pogrom” and a violation of constitutional rights under Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty). 

At the Chaygaon rally Kharge promised that if Congress comes to power in Assam, it will rebuild the homes of those evicted and rehabilitate affected families.

Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi labeled the evictions as “state-sponsored fire” and accused the BJP-led government of clearing land for industrialists like Adani and Ambani rather than for public welfare.

Thousands of people, mostly those evicted, joined the demonstration against the eviction.

The incident has echoed the 2021 killing of two Muslims, Saddam Hussain and Sheikh Farid, who were shot dead in a police firing  while protesting an anti-encroachment drive in Assam’s Darrang district.