Guwahati — The mother of a 19-year-old Muslim youth shot dead during a police firing in Goalpara, Assam, has appealed to the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court for an independent judicial investigation, alleging “unprovoked, excessive, and disproportionate” use of force by police, reported the Reddit.
In a letter dated August 4, Nachiran Bibi, mother of the deceased Sakowar Ali from Ashudubi village, said her family had “lost trust in the police authorities to conduct an impartial investigation” and urged the court to step in.
She also accused police of forcibly burying her son’s body in Kismatpur Kabrsthan in Goalpara against the family’s wishes to hold the burial at Kharidhara Kabrsthan in Krishnai. “We were compelled to comply with the police instructions under stressful circumstances,” she wrote.
According to the letter, the family—residents of the area for over 70 years—was served with an eviction notice by the Forest Department. On July 10, 2025, part of their home’s roof was removed, and two days later, the police demolished homes in the village.
On July 17, as some displaced families stayed in tents searching for relocation options, forest officials accompanied by police allegedly attempted to block the only connecting road (Ashudubi to Khardang) with a JCB. Local elders protested, fearing isolation, but a verbal argument escalated.
Sakowar and his brother Noser reportedly joined the crowd “out of curiosity” before police allegedly resorted to a lathi charge and opened fire. Sakowar, a grocery vendor, was shot above the neck and died instantly. Two other adults and a 12-year-old child were seriously injured.
The incident occurred amid a wave of state government eviction drives in June and July that displaced more than 3,500 families across Goalpara, Dhubri, Nalbari, and Lakhimpur districts. Critics, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, have condemned the operations as “state-sponsored fire” aimed at clearing land for corporate interests rather than public welfare.
Rights groups say the majority of those evicted are Bengali-origin Muslims, raising concerns of targeted displacement under the guise of removing “illegal encroachments.” The specific operation in Goalpara saw 1,080 families removed from 140 hectares of forest land.
