Journalist killed while covering IPFT agitation

AGARTALA

: A journalist from a local TV news channel here was abducted and killed on Wednesday in West Tripura district while covering the agitation and road blockade by the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), the police said.

Superintendent of Police of West district, Abhijit Saptarshi, said Santanu Bhowmick, a journalist from 'Dinrat' news channel, was covering the agitation and road blockade by the IPFT at Mandai when he was hit from behind and abducted.

Later, Bhowmick was found with serious stab injuries and was rushed to Agartala Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, the SP said.

Tripura health minister Badal Chowdhury condemned the killing and state information minister Bhanulal Saha visited the hospital.

The SP said the situation at Mandai was tense. Prohibitory orders under section 144 Crpc were already in force in the area and more police forces was being rushed to there, he said.

Over a hundred activists of the Gana Mukti

Parishad

(GMP), the tribal wing of the ruling CPM, were on Tuesday injured in a clash with the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) at Chhankhola area of

Khowai

district, about 40 km from Agartala.

Khowai Superintendent of Police

Nagendra Debbarma

told reporters that the clash took place when the Parishad supporters gathered at the bus stand at Khowai town to travel to Agartala for a GMP rally.

The IPFT workers attacked the GMP activists with sticks and iron rods and injured at least 118 of them, six seriously, and damaged at least 15 buses.

Personnel from the

Tripura State Rifles

and Assam Rifles were deployed in sensitive areas of the district and prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC imposed in Tulashikhar and

Rajnagar

apprehending breach of peace, the SP said.