AGARTALA, Aug 2: The CPI(M) on Friday said rioting and arson at Gandatwisa in Tripura’s Dhalai district rendered around “165 families homeless” and demanded an impartial probe into the violence.
A delegation of CPI(M) visited the violence-hit area on Thursday and interacted with the affected people, a party leader said.
“Besides the death of a college student, shops and houses were looted and torched. All these incidents happened in the presence of police. The panic-stricken people had to flee and stay in jungles to save their lives. Around 165 families became homeless and have taken shelter in a school,” CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said at a press conference here.
The district administration had, earlier, said the rioting and arson at Gandatwisa rendered 40 families homeless.
Many houses were looted and set on fire by a mob on July 12, following the death of a 19-year-old college student in a clash between two groups in the area.
“We want the government to undertake an impartial probe into all the incidents, including the death of college student Parmeshwar Reang and looting of shops and houses. If the criminals involved in such acts are not brought to justice, it will be a blot on society,” he said.
The CPI(M) leader demanded adequate compensation for the violence-affected families and security cover at vulnerable locations.
Chaudhury said the government must undertake peace initiatives to bring back the confidence among the tribal and non-tribal people at Gandatwisa.
“During communal riots in 1980 and disturbances in the late 1990s in the state, the then Left Front government organised peace meetings across Tripura. Such exercises had yielded encouraging results. Therefore, we want the government to organise peace meetings as confidence-building measures,” he said.
Chaudhury also urged chief minister Manik Saha along with the Chief Secretary, DGP and Revenue Secretary to visit violence-hit Gandatwisa immediately to take stock of the situation. (PTI)