The action, according to the police, was taken after agitators reportedly started pelting stones and blocked National Highway 8 in Panisagar town.
After a protest allegedly turned violent on Saturday, at least one person was killed and several others were injured, five seriously, in North Tripura as police opened fire, NDTV reported. Reinforcements have been sent to affected parts of the state.
The action, according to the police, was taken after agitators reportedly started pelting stones and blocked National Highway 8 in Panisagar town – 4 hours north of state capital Agartala.
A 45-years-old person named Srikanta Das has been shot dead and five others were seriously injured when police personnel fired at a group of people protesting in support of an indefinite bandh, or shutdown, against the rehabilitation of Bru refugees, police sources have told NDTV.
The protestors are said to have also attacked police personnel, sources have said.
As per local sources, one personnel from the fire department also reportedly died, but the police have not yet confirmed the death.
In view of the violence, a massive deputation of the security forces is observed, including troopers of the Tripura State Rifles, mobilised in Panisagar and neighbouring Kanchanpur areas which remain tense, police informed.
The shutdown has been in place since November 16 against the Central government’s decision to rehabilitate around 35,000 tribal Bru refugees from Mizoram back to Tripura, leading to rising tension and crippled normal life.
Around 12,000 to 15,000 protestors, including students, women and children, since Monday, have been defying prohibitory orders by organising rallies and demonstrations in front of government offices and markets.
On Tuesday, the law and order situation became worse after a group of tribal refugees attacked 26 non-tribal houses and a fuel pump forcing 110 people to flee to safer places, the police informed.
In October 1997, thousands of Bru tribals fled to neighbouring Mizoram after an ethnic conflict in Tripura. The tribals’ location from the refugee camps, considered a pet project of Home Minister Amit Shah, was seen as a major success of the Narendra Modi government in the country’s northeastern states. However, the locals have responded against it strongly.
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