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Agartala, Oct 24 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday warned that no one involved in Thursday’s violent attacks in Kamalpur subdivision of Dhalai district will be spared, saying those responsible will be nowhere to be found in the coming days.
Expressing strong reaction to the incidents of violence allegedly committed by members of the tribal-based Tiprasa Civil Society (TCS), Saha said he has directed the police to take strict action against the culprits.
The Chief Minister on Friday visited the Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital in Agartala to inquire about the health condition of the three injured persons – Salema Block Development Officer (BDO) Abhijit Majumdar, engineer Animesh Saha and businessman Subrata Paul.
Of the 12 people injured in Thursday’s violence, three were taken to Agartala for treatment, while the remaining nine, including Kamalpur sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Samudra Debbarma, are undergoing treatment at Kamalpur Bimal Sinha Memorial Hospital.
CM Saha told the media, “We have seen what happened. The whole night I was monitoring the incident and the situation. I have given appropriate instructions to the police.”
The visibly angry Chief Minister said, “This is unacceptable. The way they attacked with sticks, iron rods and slingshots – and even snatched chains from women – I don’t understand what kind of movement this is. I have directed the Tripura Police to take appropriate action, and the law will take its own course.”
Reiterating that no one involved in the violence will be spared, Saha assured that the culprits will be punished. He warned, “Security forces have been deployed in large numbers. I have identified on social media who was involved. No one will be tolerated or accepted. They will be nowhere to be found in the coming days. Just wait and see what happens.”
In a Facebook post, the Chief Minister said, “District Magistrate, Dhalai, has been directed to assess the damage caused to the shops that were vandalized yesterday at Santirbazar under Surma assembly constituency. The government stands strongly with the victims and will take all necessary steps for their rehabilitation.”
Leaders of various parties have condemned the attack on Thursday in Kamalpur.
Former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said that a section of Tiprasa civil society activists attacked businessmen in Kamalpur for protesting against the bandh. “Deportation of illegal immigrants is the duty of the Home Ministry. Why were officers and businessmen attacked and houses and shops of innocent businessmen vandalized in the name of agitation against illegal immigrants?” The government asked questions.
State BJP President Rajib Bhattacharya and Congress leader and former minister Sudip Roy Burman also visited the hospital to inquire about the condition of the injured.
CPI-M state secretary and leader of opposition Jitendra Choudhary, senior minister Ratan Lal Nath, former chief minister and BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb and several other political leaders condemned the violence.
Tiprasa Civil Society (TCS), affiliated with the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) led by TMP MLA Ranjit Debbarma, an ally of the ruling BJP, had called for a 24-hour statewide bandh on Thursday in support of their eight-point demands.
The demands include deportation of illegal immigrants, introduction of Inner Line Permit (ILP) to stop infiltration and implementation of the tripartite agreement signed between the Centre, Tripura government and TMP on March 2 last year.
According to the police, protesters carrying the national flag staged protests on Thursday at over 52 major locations and highways across the state and at some places along the railway tracks in West Tripura and Khowai districts.
Following the signing of the tripartite agreement, the then opposition TMP, which has 13 MLAs, joined the BJP-led coalition government on March 7, 2024, reshaping Tripura’s political landscape.
Two TMP MLAs – Animesh Debbarma and Brishketu Debbarma – were later inducted into the Manik Saha cabinet.
TMP, under the leadership of Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, had also demonstrated in Delhi on September 9 to pressurize its demands.
Since 2021, the TMP has ruled the 30-member Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), which covers about two-thirds of the state’s 10,491 sq km area and is home to more than 12.16 lakh people, about 84 per cent of whom are tribals.
–IANS
SC/PGH