Tripura Police officials on Saturday claimed they had largely restored peace after sporadic incidents of violence following the declaration of the Assembly election results, but issued an alert over malicious attempts to create ethnic tensions. Senior police officers of the headquarters here and in the districts in separate video statements refuted the occurrence of any ethnically motivated incident and appealed to people to help them maintain harmony and peace.
The officers spoke in English, Bengali and Kokborok, a local tribal dialect, in their appeals. They urged people to contact the nearest police station if they need any assistance or clarification.
The police blamed troublemongers for spreading fake news on social media and said efforts had been initiated to identify them. The cyber cell unit of the State police has been tasked with tracing the source of misinformation campaigns.
Central security forces have been deployed in restive areas that saw violence following the declaration of election results. Several supporters of political parties were injured in the incidents and at least nine of them have been admitted in hospitals.
Senior political leaders, including Chief Minister Manik Saha, visited GB Hospital to enquire about patients injured in the violence. Dr. Saha on Saturday warned that the guilty would not be spared.
The BJP, the Left-Congress alliance and the Tipra Motha have traded charges over the violent incidents over the past three days. Bombs were hurled at a number of places and gun shots fired on Friday night at the Barjala Assembly constituency to create panic. Arson attacks took place in at least five places. The rubber cultivation of newly elected Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MLA Sailendra Chandra Nath, who won from the Jubarajnagar constituency in north Tripura, was destroyed by fire.
Police arrested about 20 people in connection with 70 registered cases. More arrests are likely, a police officer said.
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