Complaint against Sadhguru, Assam CM for jeep safari in Kaziranga National Park

Action should be taken under the law to make them issue a public apology too, the complaint said

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma along with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev during 'Save Soil Campaign' in Golaghat district. Credit: PTI Photo

Two villagers living near Assam's Kaziranga National Park (KNP) on Sunday filed a police complaint seeking action against Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudeva of Isha Foundation and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for a drive inside the park on Saturday night.

After reopening the KNP for tourists on Saturday evening, Sadhguru drove a jeep inside the park in the evening with Sarma beside him. Assam Cabinet Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah and others also took the jeep safari at night, which according to the complaint, is a violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The complaint was filed at Bokakhat police station in eastern Assam's Golaghat district by Soneswar Narah of Morongial gaon and Prabin Pegu, a resident of Balijan Adarsha Mishing Gaon in Golaghat.

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"The law should be equal for all. Jeep safari inside the park during the night is prohibited for tourists but Sadhguru and Sarma took the jeep ride at night. The relaxation of the rules for them would remain a threat for protection of Kaziranga and its animals. So the police should show its fundamental duties by arresting them for violation of the Wildlife Protection Act," Narah and Pegu, belonging to the Mishing tribe, said in the complaint.

"Action should be taken under the law to make them issue a public apology too," said the complaint.

The 1,300-sq km Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve is a tourist attraction and is the biggest home for the greater one-horned rhinos. The park has 2,613 rhinos at present. The park, however, remained closed for tourists since May due to the Monsoon.

Sadhguru addressed Assam ministers, MLAs, bureaucrats and others on Saturday at a resort at a "chintan shivir" organised by the BJP-led Assam government. Addressing the event, Sadhguru earlier underscored the potential of sustainable ecotourism in Assam and rest of the Northeast without disturbing the ecology and the environment. The Assam government also signed a MoU with Isha Foundation for sustainable use of soil for agriculture practices.

No reaction was available from Sadhguru or Assam CM regarding the complaint or the charges.