Tripura: Journalist hacked to death by tribal party cadres during protest rally

Agartala: A journalist working for a local television channel was hacked to death in an attack by tribal party cadres in Tripura on Wednesday, police said.

28-year-old Shantanu Bhowmik, along with his colleagues had gone to Mandai to cover a rally organised by members of Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) and CPI-M's tribal wing Tripura Rajaer Upajati Ganamukti Parishad (TRUGP). 

The IPFT and CPI-M's tribal wing members had gathered at Mandai after Tuesday's series of violent attacks across the state.

During the melee, the agitated tribal party cadres hacked Bhowmil to death with a sharp-edged weapon. 

Police later recovered his body and brought it to government-run Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital," a police official said.

Since Tuesday, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were promulgated in more than 10 places of West Tripura and Khowai districts, including Mandai.

"Police resorted to lathicharge and dispersed the mob in Mandai as they assembled there violating the prohibitory orders. 

Later, Deputy Inspector General of Police Arindam Nath told IANS that police subsequently arrested four IPFT members from the spot, 35 km north of here.

Wednesday's incident at Mandai was an upshot of Tuesday's series of violent attacks across the state.

On Tuesday, over 60 members of TRUGP were injured in separate attacks allegedly by rival IPFT cadres at 12 places in Tripura.

The injured also included women and a police official. Of the 60 injured, 11 TRUGP members were seriously wounded and were admitted to the government-run medical college and hospital here.

TRUGP President Jitendra Chowdhury said: "The IPFT members attacked the TRUGP men and women when the latter were coming in vehicles to Agartala from different places in Tripura to attend a party rally here."

The IPFT cadres also burnt down at least two buses in which the TRUGP men were travelling, though no one was injured.

The TRUGP rally was addressed by Chief Minister and CPI-M politburo member Manik Sarkar, party President and Lok Sabha member Jitendra Chowdhury, and Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Chief Executive member Radha Charan Debbarma, among other leaders.

The IPFT and the Twipraland State Party have been agitating for upgrading the existing TTAADC to a separate tribal state.