14 years on, two elderly women still face trial over SHLEP anti-dam protest in Assam

North Lakhimpur, June 20: Every month, two elderly women from rural Lakhimpur travel over 80 kilometres, often twice a month, just to attend court hearings for a crime they insist they never committed. Laheswari Chutia (87) and Pratibha Chutia (71), residents of Mornoi-Bebejia Kathgaon in Ghilamora, have been attending hearings in a 14-year-long legal battle tied to the anti-dam protests of 2011 against the NHPC’s Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLHEP) at Gerukamukh.

What began as a casual trip to visit relatives on June 16, 2011, turned into a nightmare that has stretched into the twilight of their lives.

The two women were enroute from Ghilamora to North Lakhimpur when their bus was caught in a traffic jam caused by a massive protest against the construction of the 2,000 MW SLHEP dam. Tired, they stepped off the bus and rested under a tree. Moments later, they were forcibly picked up by police near Chawuldhowa and taken to North Lakhimpur Police Station.

To their disbelief, they were accused of leading the anti-dam protest and slapped with serious charges under IPC Sections 120(B), 149, 435, 429, and 323. The next day, they were jailed as undertrial detainees for six months, despite their age and lack of involvement. Since being granted bail, they’ve been appearing regularly at court hearings as part of Case No. GR 643/2012.

“We were just travelling. We didn’t even know about the protest. But the police picked us randomly and accused us of leading the agitation,” recalls Pratibha Chutia, still struggling to make sense of her ordeal.

Over the past 14 years, the women have never been granted exemption from personal appearance, despite Laheswari’s disability, cancer diagnosis, and extreme age. She also has multiple other cases registered across six different police stations in the district, all linked to the same protest.

“We appear before the magistrate every time just to sign and mark attendance,” Pratibha says. “And if we miss a date, we are issued arrest warrants. Sometimes police come to our homes and intimidate us.”

The physical, emotional, and financial toll of these repeated court appearances has left them deeply vulnerable. Poverty forces them to live in tattered homes, with no financial support or legal aid. Their story, they say, has been forgotten by the very movement that brought them into this ordeal.

“The leaders of that movement have moved on. Some are now elected representatives, others part of the political system. But no one remembers us,” says Laheswari.

The anti-dam movement was spearheaded by organisations like the Krishak Mukti Sangram Parishad (KMSS) and supported by student bodies like AASU, TMPK, AJYCP, among others. Ironically, while the women continue their court struggles, many leaders of these groups have gone on to occupy positions of power.

The SLHEP project, which had seen work suspended from December 2011 due to protests, resumed in October 2019 and is now scheduled for commissioning this month. Meanwhile, the suffering of the forgotten footnotes of the protest continues, with no official acknowledgement or compensation.

Now, all Laheswari and Pratibha hope for is a speedy acquittal, and perhaps, some recognition and justice for the years lost in fighting a legal battle they never asked for.