Tripura Violence: Left-Congress MPs Fact-Finding Team ‘Attacked’; 3-4 Vehicles Vandalised

A joint fact-finding team from the Left parties and the Congress, including MPs and MLAs, which arrived in Agartala on Friday to look into post-poll violence in Tripura, was attacked in Sepahijala district, reports, citing the police, claimed.

While the police said the team was attacked by unknown miscreants, Congress MP from Assam Abdul Khaliq, who was part of the team, alleged that the attackers claimed that they were Bharatiya Janata Party workers and pelted stones. “Three-four of our vehicles were vandalised. The police did nothing. We realised there is no rule of law in Tripura,” news agency ANI quoted Khaliq as saying.

Assistant inspector general (law and order) Jyotishman Das Chowdhury told news agency PTI that no one of the eight-member team was injured in the attack in Nehalchandrangar.

“A delegation of MPs, MLAs and local leaders of the Left parties and the Congress made an unscheduled visit to Nehalchandranagar in Bishalgarh today. During their visit, sloganeering was done and their vehicles were attacked by some miscreants. The police escort team responded quickly and rescued members of the delegation safely… No injury to any person was reported but two-three vehicles have been damaged in the attack,” Chowdhury said.

The officer, however, said one person has been detained in the incident.

“Raids are on to identify and arrest other miscreants. Senior police officers are there at the spot,” he said.

Sharing a video, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “A delegation of Congress leaders was attacked by BJP goons today in Bishalgarh & Mohanpur in Tripura. Police accompanying the delegation did NOTHING. And tomorrow BJP is having a victory rally there. Victory of party-sponsored violence.”

Left and Congress MPs from Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu arrived in Tripura to find out the extent of violence alleged to have taken place since the poll results on March 2. The MPs, divided into three teams, visited different parts of the districts of Sepahijala, Gomati, West Tripura, Khowai, and Dhalai during the day, The Indian Express reported.

The CPI(M) said the joint team of the Left and the Congress were visiting various violence-hit areas of West Tripura, Sepahijala and Khowa during the day.

“Once the delegation, comprising CPI(M) MP E Karim and Congress MP Abdul Khaliq and AICC general secretary Ajay Kumar landed at Nehalchandrangar market, they were attacked by miscreants raising slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. One vehicle was severely damaged, while two more cars were also vandalised,” senior CPI(M) leader Rakhal Majumder said.

“Our members were saved as they shifted promptly from there,” Majumder said, adding that Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Birajit Sinha and CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury, who won the election, were also part of the fact-finding delegation.

Khalek also alleged that nearly 20 shops were gutted in Nehalchandranagar and after the delegation reached the spot in the afternoon to take stock of the situation it came under attack. “We were informed some 20 shops were gutted in Nehalchandranagar in Bishalgarh. We went to visit those and talk to the affected people,” the newspaper quoted Khalek as saying.

The fact-finding team is expected to stay in the state till March 12 after which it will submit a report and the issue will be raised in the next Parliament session, which will begin on March 13, CPI MP Binoy Viswam had tweeted on Thursday.

Condemning the attack on the delegation, the CPI(M) demanded the arrest of all the miscreants immediately.

Most of the post-poll violence cases were reported from Sepahijala and Khowai districts. Chief minister Manik Saha asked the police to take stern action against the miscreants in order to maintain peace and tranquillity.

In the Tripura election, the BJP-IPFT government returned to power in the state for the second consecutive term as the saffron party won 32 seats in the 60-member assembly, while its ally the Indigenous Peoples’ Front of Tripura secured one constituency.