Police open fire, resort to lathi-charge after violent communal clashes in Tripura’s Dharmanagar

Agartala, Oct 7 (IANS) Police opened fire in the air and resorted to lathi-charge in different phases to disperse mobs after a large number of people belonging to two religious communities clashed over the collection of Durga puja donations in northern Tripura’s Dharmanagar on Sunday.

Police said many people from both communities were injured during the violent clashes.

The district administration has clamped prohibitory orders at Kadamtala police station jurisdiction under the Dharmanagar sub-division and a large contingent of security forces including Tripura State Rifles (TSR) were deployed at the mixed-populated Kadamtala areas adjoining southern Assam.

An official of the district administration said that the prohibitory orders were clamped under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita at Kadamtala police station jurisdiction till Wednesday to control the situation and restore normalcy.

A police official said that over the collection of Durga puja donations, people of different communities attacked each other leading to communal tension at Kadamtala.

The official said that the mob vandalised some shops and houses and the police resorted to lathi-charge several times to disperse them.

“Police would take legal action against those involved,” the official said.

North Tripura district police in a post on the X said: “An incident related to law and order that occurred today under Kadamtala PS has been resolved with the intervention of religious leaders from both communities.”

“To further maintain peace in the area, Section 163 of the BNSS has been promulgated. We urge everyone to comply with this order, avoid gatherings, and refrain from spreading rumors or unverified information,” the district police said.

High tension prevailed in the entire Dharmanagar, the district headquarters of North Tripura district.

Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury talked to Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and senior police officials about the situation.

Chaudhury, also the CPI-M state Secretary, requested the Chief Minister to deploy the Border Security Force and the Assam Rifles to control the situation.

–IANS

sc/sha