Tripura: Sedition case against three for ‘Hello China’ slogans during protest against citizenship bill

“In the FIR, three persons have been named and it mentions ‘other protesters’. Charges under sections 124A and 120B have been invoked against them," Ajit Pratap Singh, SP, West Tripura district said.

Tripura: Sedition case against three for ‘Hello China’ slogans during citizenship bill protest

Protests erupted against the anti-Citizenship Amendment Bill in Tripura (Express file photo/Debraj Deb)

Sedition charges have been slapped on three tribal political activists in Tripura for allegedly raising “pro-China” and “anti-India” slogans at a January 30 rally in protest of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, police said Wednesday.

Ajit Pratap Singh, SP, West Tripura district, told The Indian Express over phone, “In the FIR, three persons have been named and it mentions ‘other protesters’. Charges under sections 124A and 120B have been invoked against them. Video footage of the protest that we have obtained clearly show anti-India slogans being raised which obviously attracts charges of sedition.”

The three persons have been identified as Jagadish Debbarma, general secretary of Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), Aghore Debbarma, a leader of the Tipraha faction of the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and Anthony Debbarma, a human rights activist.

Upendra Debbarma, advisor to the Twipra Students’ Federation, told The Indian Express over phone, “The allegations are false. These three persons did not shout “Hello China” or anti-India slogans. We were protesting against the Bill but not raising such slogans.”