CPI(M), Cong delegations stopped from visiting violence-hit Gandatwisa; Tripura Police say prohibitory orders are in place

Denied permission, Roy Barman asked a police official why Minister Tinku Roy, BJP state vice president Subal Bhowmik, and TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma were allowed to visit Gandatwisa earlier.

The Congress delegation later returned to Agartala and accused the police of blindly toeing the line of the administration.

In a separate incident, a CPI(M) delegation led by Opposition leader Jitendra Chaudhary was also halted midway by the police.

“Civil rights are being curtailed in broad daylight in the state. The administration has been claiming everything is normal at Gandatwisa. Why are we then not allowed to visit the area? We feel it is the administration that is making the situation abnormal. It is a shameless administration,” Chaudhary said.

Meanwhile, Dhalai District Magistrate Saju Waheed said, “The situation is normal at Gandatwisa but we have extended Section 163 (of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) in the area for two more days based on the input from the police.”

As per official estimates, around 40 houses and 30 shops, among others, were damaged after violence broke out in Gandatwisa following the death of an injured tribal youth on July 12.