ABVP man stabbed, Section 144 imposed in N Tripura district

AGARTALA: Communal friction in North Tripura flared up again after a leader of BJP’s student wing was stabbed on Friday in front of

Kailashahar

police station, prompting the Unakoti district administration to clamp Section 144 in the area.

The critically injured ABVP member, identified as

Shivaji Sengupta

, was attacked during a confrontation with a group outside R K Institution in Kailashahar, where the student organisation had organised a membership drive. Police said the situation in the district was already tense after a mosque was allegedly damaged by alleged supporters of local BJP MLA Sudhangshu Das at Palbazar. In an allegedly retaliatory attack, a temple in the Kubjar area of Kailashahar was vandalised later.

Minister

Baghaban Das

, CPI-M MLA Mabaswar Ali and senior Congress leader

Badrujaman

visited the area to placate the residents. The subdivisional administration, too, initiated peace meetings with community leaders to restore normalcy and repair the damage caused to the mosque and the temple. The police have banned any religious meeting, rally or congregation across the state. Security has been beefed up in and around shrines and areas with a mixed population.

The string of clashes started last week after

VHP

took out a procession to protest the attacks on minority Hindus in neighbouring Bangladesh.