Tripura: Oppn Claims 1,200 Incidents Of Post-Poll Violence, Delegation Visits Affected Areas

The Left Front has claimed around 1,200 incidents of violence were reported across Tripura after the announcement of Assembly election results on March 2.

A day after the Left Front accused the BJP in Tripura of ransacking and burning down houses of workers of the opposition parties, an eight-member fact-finding delegation of leaders from Congress, CPI (M) and CPI arrived in Agartala on Friday to take stock of the post-poll violence in the state.

The Opposition team will stay in Tripura till March 12 and submit a report after meeting those affected due to violence following the state assembly election results, which were declared earlier this month. The BJP-IPFT alliance stormed back to power after winning 33 seats in the 60-member Tripura assembly.

CPI MP Binoy Viswam has said the issue would be raised in the second half of the Budget session of Parliament, which convenes from March 13.

On Thursday, he tweeted, "Our united fact-finding mission to Tripura is the natural response to the atrocities unleashed by BJP. Burning of houses and killing of cows mark their victory parade. Democratic values are anathema to BJP. If secular, democratic, left forces stand united, BJP can be defeated."

Senior CPI (M) leader Pabita Kar said the team would be further divided into three groups for visiting the violence-affected districts of West Tripura, Sepahijala and Khowai.

Kar said around 1,200 incidents of violence were reported across Tripura after the announcement of Assembly election results on March 2, reported PTI.

"The exact number of injured as well as the extent of damage could not be ascertained because countless incidents took place since the announcement of election results. A process has already been initiated to compile an authentic report on the post-poll violence," PTI quoted Kar as saying.

Earlier, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Law and Order, Jyotishman Das Chowdhury said most incidents of post-poll violence took place in Sepahijala and Khowai districts. He said a few people were left injured in these incidents and were sent to nearby hospitals.

Chief Minister Manik Saha visited the GBP hospital on Friday to meet the injured people and instructed the police to take strict action against the miscreants to ensure peace in the region, reported PTI.

The CPIM's party mouthpiece People's Democracy, in an editorial on Thursday, accused BJP supporters of ransacking and burning down houses of workers of the Opposition parties and demolishing their party offices. The CPIM accused the BJP of unleashing an "orgy of violence".

"These were in the form of physical attacks on CPI(M), Left Front and Congress workers and supporters, ransacking or burning of their houses and demolition of party offices. A particularly vicious form of attack is meant to destroy their means of livelihood like burning down rubber plantations, crops and damaging their e-rickshaws and vehicles to stop them from plying," the party alleged.