People in Panisagar are in a difficult condition after a mosque and a few stores were vandalised and two shops were set ablaze on Tuesday evening, some 155 kilometres from Agartala city.
A group of the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists has been accused of staging a march in protest of recent religious vandalism in Bangladesh.
As per reports by Time8, Kanchanpur sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Souvik Dey told on Tuesday late evening that a VHP protest parade was held in Panisagar on Tuesday evening.
Damage caused
He stated “A section of the rally activists went out of the way and ransacked a mosque at Chamtilla area. Later, three houses, three shops were ransacked and two shops were gutted at Rowa Bazar area around 800 yards away from the spot of first incident”.
“One of stakeholders had registered a case. Heavy security deployment was made in all the sensitive areas in the vicinity to avoid further deterioration of law and order situation”, according to the SDPO.
Bajrang Dal
Narayan Das, a leader of the Bajrang Dal, remarked, according to Dey. “VHP had organized a protest rally at Panisagar area on Tuesday. We gathered at Panisagar motor stand and were scheduled to walk through different areas including Chamtilla, Rowa, Jalebasha etc and gather back at the point of start”.
“After we came near Rowa, we found a section of youths in front of a mosque shouting and abusing us. They were armed with local weapons and raised religious slogans and chanted Pakistan Zindabad. Some scattered incidents occurred due to their provocation”, he added.
Police actions
In response to the event, BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said he was unaware of it, but that he expects police will take appropriate action.
“Incidents of this nature have been occurring in Tripura since the tragedy in Bangladesh,” CPIM state leader Pabitra Kar stated. The BJP is behind all of this. Tripura is noted for its communal tolerance and tranquillity. The state administration should work to promote communal harmony and tranquilly.”
