Tripura Police have invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against two lawyers who alleged Muslims were targeted in the violence in the state last month and also named fringe outfits Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM), and Bajrang Dal as the perpetrators.
In their report, the lawyers, conducting a fact-finding and legal assistance mission on behalf of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), also said the Tripura government and state police did not take timely action to stop the violence, which is “tantamount to sponsoring the violence”.
The lawyers booked under the UAPA, among other charges, are Mukesh, who practices at the Delhi High Court, and Ansar Indori, a Supreme Court lawyer and member of the National Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (NCHRO), an umbrella body of various human rights groups.
The violence in Tripura started with a mosque getting vandalized and shops and houses getting attacked and torched in Panisagar town, during a 26 October VHP rally on last month’s communal violence against Hindus in neighbouring Bangladesh.
This was followed by several other alleged incidents where mosques were vandalized, and establishments belonging to minority communities set on fire.
Around 71 people have been booked by Tripura Police in connection with the violence so far and five criminal cases filed over alleged provocative social media posts.
The two lawyers have been asked to appear at the Agartala Police Station by November 10.
