Agartala, August 24: The Tripura government on Wednesday barred public meetings and rallies in Agartala and re-imposed prohibitory orders in state capital to ensure normalcy and peace, an official said.
These measures come after Tuesday’s ethnic clashes in which at least 24 persons were injured and 15 vehicles, including two-wheelers, were damaged. The mob also set fire to some shops and vehicles.
“The prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC has been re-imposed in Agartala. All kinds of public meetings and rallies have been disallowed,” police spokesman Uttam Bhowmik said.
He said the situation was normal in the city, though personnel of the paramilitary forces, Tripura State Rifles and the police were deployed in large numbers across Agartala as a precautionary measure.
The attendance in government offices, banks, schools and other places was less than normal on Wednesday. A senior police official, insisting on anonymity, said all 74 police stations across the state have been put on alert and security personnel directed to remain vigilant. Top police officials are closely monitoring the situation.
At least 24 people, including five policemen, were injured, a few of them seriously, in Agartala after activists of a tribal party -- Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) -- attacked civilians, traders and vehicles indiscriminately without provocation on Tuesday.
The situation turned violent around noon on Tuesday as hundreds of tribals owing allegiance to the IPFT took out a rally and attacked passersby, including women.
This triggered retaliation by people of other communities, turning the situation volatile on ethnic lines. The injured, including policemen, have been shifted to hospitals. Around 3,000 IPFT tribal activists and their supporters, including a large numbers of women, were left stranded here till early Wednesday in the wake of Tuesday’s violence. Police and district administration officials arranged to send them to their homes in different parts of the state.
The state government has urged the people to maintain peace and not to fall prey to any rumours. The IPFT has been agitating for the creation of a separate state, carved out by upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council area. Tribals constitute a third of Tripura’s four million population.
The IPFT’s demand was rejected by almost all political parties, including ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). The CPI-M has accused the opposition parties, especially the Trinamool Congress (TMC), of disturbing peace in Tripura. The opposition, however, blamed the Left Front government for “mishandling” Tuesday’s situation.
The TMC had planned a “peace rally” on Wednesday but cancelled it. “We will not fall prey to the conspiracy of the ruling parties. We have cancelled the rally as the government did not give us permission,” Trinamool leader Ashish Saha told reporters.
Meanwhile, the North East Dialogue Forum, Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur expressed strong condemnation with the violence and attacks unleashed by dominant communities on indigenous Borok people at Agaratal City in Tripura.
In a release the Forum said, the attack happened during the Tipraland demand day of IPFT party of Tripura, where many thousands of indigenous youth gathered in the Astable ground, Agartala to mark the day. The dominant community attacked the crowd in the subsequent mass rally of IPFT supporters, throwing bottle and pelted stone, leading to injury of many.
“Nearly 30 people, including women, children and elderly people were feared to be injured in the attack by dominant community. Several members of indigenous Borok people were feared to be stranded as the Government of Tripura failed to provide safety and security measures for the Borok people, who are forced to become minority in their own land since the Indo-Pak war in 1971. Many people could not move out of the Agartala city due to the attack.”
Unfortunately, the Government of Tripura imposed ban on media in Tripura from covering the incidents. The govt. had warned all the TV channel and news paper not to report or publish any incident cases. The NEDF and CRA, Manipur condemned the Government of Tripura for its role by suppressing and muffling the voice of media from covering and highlighting the incidents on 23rd August.
“This is a undemocratic act and undermine freedom of expression and opinion. This also exposes the tacit role of the State in perpetuating the violations and attacks on Borok indigenous people.”
The Forum said, the partisan role of the law enforcing agencies by failing to protect the indigenous peoples is also condemnable. “The police, instead of protecting the Borok people, also instigated the dominant community of Tripura to chase them while fleeing from attacks. The excessive deployment of para military forces in the aftermath of the attacks constitutes violation of human rights of Borok people.”
“It is highly unfortunate that the Borok people, already marginalized and minoritized due to the state sponsored infusion of non-indigenous population in Tripura, are further subjected to human rights violations and attacks by the dominant communities, with tacit facilitation and support by the State.
The NEDF and CRA, Manipur also urged upon the Government of India and the Government of India to immediately stop the attacks and to protect the rights of indigenous Borok People of Tripura and further to conduct a detailed investigation into the unfortunate incidents on 23rd August in Agartala and prosecute all those responsible in the attack, including those police officials involved in instigating and condoning the attacks and violations.
“All the victims injured in the attacks should be awarded adequate compensation. The Government of India should uphold the rights of indigenous Borok people of Tripura and stop further encroachment and any land alienation in their land. All necessary steps should be initiated to prevent similar attacks on indigenous community.”
