Anti-CAB protests turn violent in Tripura

AGARTALA: The second day of agitation against the citizenship bill called by Joint Movement Against Citizenship Amendment Bill (JMACAB), a conglomeration of all tribal-based regional parties, NGOs, and student organizations, turned violent on Tuesday.
Apprehending communal tension after a series of violence, the Tripura government has asked all internet service providers to stop mobile data service and SMS service for the next two days.The state government has mobilised extra forces to tackle further spread of violence, even as JMACAB announced that protests would continue until CAB is scrapped for Tripura.
At least seven people, including a policeman, were injured when protesters attacked various markets in North Tripura and Dhalai districts. A fruit vendor, identified as Kripasindu Chakraborty in Manughat bazar on national highway, was seriously injured when protesters hit his head with a sharp weapon after they found his shop open, police said.
Several other shops in 82 miles market, Manughat bazar, Kulai, and Nailafa bazar of Dhalai district were gutted after protesters found them open, defying the bandh. Eight motor bikes were set on fire. In Kanchanpur,several shops in the market were ransacked. They allegedly hurled crude bombs in the market and police opened four rounds in the air to tackle the situation.
Markets, schools, and public institutions in Bishramganj area of Sepahijala district and Udaipur and Amarpur of Gomati district were shut down late in the afternoon. The protesters prevented the movement of vehicles in the heart of the city and disrupted the movement of school- and office-goers in the morning.
The Tripura government warned protesters to call of strike immediately. Spokesperson of the state government law minister Ratan Lal Nath said although education department has postponed the test examinations of classes X and XII scheduled on Tuesday due to unavoidable circumstances, all other government offices and public institutions would function as usual.
The minister further said the government took a serious view on Monday’s attack on 17 school teachers, including women, by anti-CAB demonstrators in Khowai when they were conducting exams according to the direction of the authority. Specific cases have been registered and one Soumendra Debbaram was arrested at night in this connection, while a massive haunt was launched to arrest all others.
Nath, however, alleged that some political parties and organizations have been trying to misguide the people on CAB and NRC, “which is creating unnecessary unrest among various communities”. “Every political party may have some demands, but the protest should be done in a democratic way that does not affect the state’s interest or people’s lives. Destruction in the name of protest is not acceptable and the state government would not allow this to happen. Once the Union home minister made an open commitment in the floor of Parliament to protect the interest of all concerns in CAB, the agitating groups must respect it and wait and see,” Nath said.