India, Jan. 6 -- An illegal sand mining nexus has come under intense scrutiny after Molai Kathoni 2.0, a riverine forest raised in active opposition to riverbed extraction, was deliberately set ablaze on December 28, 2025.

The forest, nurtured by Padma Shri awardee Jadav "Forest Man of India" Payeng and his daughter Munmuni Payeng on a Brahmaputra sandbar near Baghmora in Assam, was widely seen as a natural barrier against erosion and an obstacle to unchecked sand mining in the area.

Preliminary estimates suggest that over 5,500 saplings planted since 2022 were destroyed, along with bird nests, eggs, and shelters for small animals-collateral damage in what locals allege was a targeted act to remove resistance to illegal sand extraction....