Journalist murder: Bandh in Tripura, CPM and BJP trade barbs

While the injured were admitted to different hospitals, Sunil Deodhar, BJP in-charge for Tripura, said one BJP worker would be shifted to Guwahati because of the serious nature of his injury. “CPM workers tried to attack our workers but could not do us much harm,” he claimed. The CPM, too, alleged that the BJP tried to create violence in the name of imposing the bandh.

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The ruling Left Front, while opposing the bandh, appealed to people not to heed the Opposition’s call, but educational institutions, banks and business establishments were shut across the state, while attendance in government offices was low due to absence of transport.

The CPM, the largest constituent of the Left Front government, accused the BJP of playing “dirty politics” over Bhowmik’s murder. “The state secretariat of the CPM strongly condemns and opposes the dirty politics which the BJP has started playing over the tragic incident of murder of journalist Sudip Datta Bhowmik,” a statement issued by Rakhal Mazumdar on behalf of the CPM state secretariat said. The party also termed as “unjustified” the BJP’s call for the bandh as the police had already arrested two main accused and investigations had begun.

Meanwhile, most newspapers carried black or blank editorial columns as a mark of protest against the journalist’s murder. Several journalists’ bodies observed ‘black day’ on Thursday.