After the incidents all North Tripura mosques get police protection
AMN / WEB DESK
Agartala: Some mosques were vandalised and some shops were burned down in North Tripura district during a rally organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday in opposition to recent violence against Hindus in Bangladesh
According to the North Tripura District Police, such incidents have been recorded in a few parts of the state for a week now. They, however, added that the situation is under control.
Aside from a few incidents, the situation is peaceful in North Tripura, said Director General of Police VS Yadav.
Meanwhile, security has been intensified and police protection has been provided to all mosques in the district.
“All the mosques across the state are under security cover now. We are keeping a vigil on the situation,” Yadav said.
A tweet by the Tripura Police read: “North Tripura District Police is taking lawful action in connection with the incident that happened today. The situation is under control. Some people are spreading rumours and circulating provocative messages on social media. It is an appeal to all not to believe such messages and maintain peace.”
Police have vowed action against those circulating rumours on social media platforms and trying to vitiate the atmosphere.
“It is informed that the law and order situation in the state is absolutely normal. We request people of all communities not to support and subscribe to such fake IDs and do not spread such fake pictures. We have already registered cases and legal action will be taken against all those spreading fake news and communally sensitive rumours,” read a tweet by the Tripura Police.
Following the incident at Chamtilla area in North Tripura district, prohibitory order under Section 144 CrPC was promulgated in Panisagar and neighbouring Dharmanagar subdivisions as a precautionary measure.
On Tuesday evening, a mosque was vandalised and two shops were set on fire at Chamtilla during the VHP rally. According to North Tripura Superintendent of police Bhanupada Chakraborty, three houses and a few shops were also ransacked in Rowa Bazar.
“Now the situation in North Tripura district is peaceful. We have beefed up security and police protection for all mosques in the district. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC were promulgated at Panisagar and Dharmanagar subdivisions for an indefinite period,” Chakraborty told news agency.
In the meantime, DGP Yadav said some people had attempted to disrupt communal harmony by attacking religious places in Tripura a few days back as well. However, they could not achieve any success because of security deployment, said Yadav.
“Some miscreants were active to disrupt the communal harmony and malign the image of the government. But the police always remained active,” Yadav told the media.
In the wake of the violence, a film festival of the Bangladesh government in Agartala, which was set to begin on October 21, has been postponed “due to unavoidable circumstances”.
16 Mosques Vandalised, 3 Set Ablaze by Violent Hindutva Mobs in Tripura
There are confirmed reports of Muslim houses being pelted with stones and houses of prominent Muslims being targeted and vandalised. Almost all of these attacks were carried out by various right-wing groups including VHP that had ostensibly gathered to protest anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh.
The details were provided at a press conference by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), where activists from Tripura and members of civil society spoke about the communal incidents of the last week and the current situation of the state.
“On Tuesday, the government imposed section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code in Dharmanagar and Kailashahar parts of North Tripura to prevent protests against the violence in the state. However, there has been no action in the areas which saw vandalism by the mob. The state and police authorities are creating an illusion of normalcy by deploying police personnel in a few areas,” said Sultan Hussain, a resident of North Tripura, and secretary of Tripura chapter of Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO).
APCR Secretary Nadeem Khan said that it doesn’t seem that the state government wants to end the violence as it hasn’t taken any concrete step yet. “The government is insisting that the situation is normal and continues to blame incidents in Bangladesh for the violence in the state. The irony is that so far 500 people have been arrested in Bangladesh, but the situation continues to be tense in Tripura,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Secretary Malik Moatasim Khan appealed to the government to bring the situation in control and provide compensation for the destruction of mosques and other properties. “The Muslims in the state should be provided security and those responsible for the violence and terror should be punished in order to bring peace to the state,” he said.
Tripura Inspector General (IG) Law and Order In-Charge Saurabh Tripathi on Thursday took a note of fake photos and videos that are being widely circulated on social media. “Fake news and rumours are being spread in regard to yesterday’s incident at Panisagar. No fire incident took place at any mosque. A case has been registered against the viral fake posts on social media platforms. Some anti-national and disturbing elements are spreading fake news in connection with the incident that took place at North Tripura district using Facebook and Twitter as mediums,” he said.