Assam forest officials accused of coercing villagers to vote for BJP under eviction threat

A complaint has been lodged in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Karimganj, alleging criminal intimidation and coercion by forest officials and others in various villages under the Ratabari Police Station area. The complaint, filed by residents of Butukusi village and neighboring areas, has named several forest officials, including M. K. Yadav, IFS and Rajiv Kumar Das, AFS among others.

The complaint, brought forward by Soidul Ali, Dilwar Hussain, Mojmun Nehar, Alimun Nesa, and others, alleges that forest officials, accompanied by police personnel and armed forest guards, have been visiting households in the area and coercing residents to vote for a particular political candidate under threat of eviction. The accused officials are reported to have used abusive language and intimidation tactics to pressurize residents into supporting the BJP candidate, Kripa Nath Mallah.

According to the complainants, the incidents have been ongoing for the past three days, with forest officials and armed personnel going door-to-door in villages such as Butukusi, Rongpur, Cheragi, and others. Residents have been allegedly threatened with eviction by bulldozers if they fail to comply with the demands to vote for the specified candidate.

Furthermore, the complaint accuses the forest officials of marking trees near residential areas and using derogatory language against the residents, referring to them as refugees and threatening them with forced eviction if they do not support the BJP candidate.

The complaint, filed under sections 504/506/120B IPC and 171-F Ipe, alleges a clear case of criminal intimidation and insult perpetrated by the accused officials. It also highlights the misuse of official capacity by government servants to influence the electoral process illegally.

The complainants have expressed concern over the impartiality of the investigation and have sought justice through legal channels. They have provided photographic and videographic evidence of the incidents to support their claims.

In a joint-common-affidavit, Soidul Ali, Dilwar Hussain, Mojmun Nehar, and Alimun Nesa, along with others, have affirmed the veracity of the complaint and stated their willingness to cooperate with the legal proceedings.