TMC seeks judicial inquiry of Agartala ethnic clash

Agartala (Tripura) [India], Aug.28 (ANI): Denouncing the announcement of a magisterial investigation of the recent ethnic clashes in Agartala, the opposition Trinamool Congress (TMC) has called for a inquiry by a sitting judge of the Tripura High Court.

It said that the communal violence in Agartala on August 23 was a deep rooted conspiracy of the ruling CPI-M.

TMC leader Sudip Roy Barman said, "We demand a judicial enquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court of Tripura and not a magistrate enquiry. Earlier also in Papai Saha (who was killed in a bullet hit suspected by security personnel during a similar incident of mob vandalism) on 11th July of 2011 when a same nature of incident took over here, we saw the main person who shot Papai Saha down that police person was not arrested. Some other guy he was arrested and now under trial obviously he going to come clean."

Barman, also a MLA, doubted that a magisterial investigation report will reveal the actual facts as there is every likelihood that the party in power will interfere in that.

He added that the incident on August 23 was pre-planned and had been hatched by the CPI-M for vested political gain through a divide and rule between tribal and non-tribal entities.

"All on a sudden, CPI-M backed hooligans started attacking Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) workers, which resulted in ethnic violence. We have got sufficient evidence to make this point stick, that the party which is in power is behind this vandalism, gundiasm and reign of terror let loose on August 23. Vehicles which carried IPFT supporters and workers from various nooks and corners of the state were burnt, many IPFT workers were assaulted, manhandled and beaten up mercilessly, some were severely injured. All these were pre-planned attacks just to insure that the divide and rule policy is once again established in Tripura, alleged the TMC leader.

According to Barman, the ruling CPI-M fearing that the IPFT is fast gaining in popularity among tribal voters, once the strong hold of the Left, has conspired to defame the IPFT and prevent any other opposition party from forging an alliance with them prior to the 2018 state assembly elections.

At least 25 persons were injured and a dozen vehicles torched during the ethnic clashes that started while an IPFT rally was on for creating a separate tribal state out of Tripura. (ANI)