GUWAHATI: The situation in Tripura’s Kadamtala area remained tense on Monday following clashes between two communities on Sunday night over Durga puja subscriptions.
Director General of Police Amitabh Ranjan visited the place and took stock of the situation on Monday while the troops of the Border Security Force conducted a flag march.
Eight persons were arrested by the police for their alleged involvement in the violence while prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS continued to remain in force in the Kadamtala police station areas.
Kadamtala falls under the Dharmanagar subdivision in the North Tripura district bordering southern Assam’s Karimganj district. It has a mixed population, largely of Hindus and Muslims.
“The situation in Kadamtala is completely under control. Police is taking appropriate action. Please don’t spread rumour,” North Tripura district police said in a post on X.
One person had died from bullet injuries while several others, including police personnel, were injured. Shops were either vandalised or torched during the violence that broke out in the Kadamtala market and its adjacent areas. The police restored order by using force.
According to reports, some people from one community were allegedly beaten up during the day over Durga puja donations. A counter-attack was perpetrated at night “following rumours”. The police said they were probing the entire episode.
“We have registered two cases in connection with the incident and arrested eight people so far,” district police chief Bhanupada Chakraborty told the media.
The authorities heightened security by deploying a large contingent of security forces, including Tripura State Rifles, to the area.
The ruling BJP sniffed a “political” angle in the clashes. Party’s state spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya alleged that some people “fueled” the violence.
“There was certainly an attempt to create unrest so that Durga puja cannot be celebrated in the area,” he told this newspaper.
Former minister and Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman criticised Chief Minister Manik Saha, stating that the latter was busy inaugurating Durga pujas in the state capital Agartala even after a person had lost his life in the violence.
