AGARTALA, Nov 29 (TIWN): The Supreme Court of India on Monday issued notice to the Centre and the Tripura government over alleged communal violence. The notice was issued on a plea seeking among others a probe into the recent alleged communal flareup in the state.

A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud issued the notice on a plea by advocate Ehtesham Hashmi, who along with two other advocates claim to have gone on a “fact-finding exercise” to the state in the aftermath of the incidents.

Crimes took place between 13.10.2021 to 27.10.2021 in Tripura were highlighted.

“It is pertinent to note that no arrests have been made by the respondents of persons who were responsible for desecrating mosques or vandalising shops and delivering hate speeches targeting the Muslim community”, he said.
The plea added that instead of acting against the miscreants, the state police was “hand in glove with the perpetrators” of the crimes.

“The police and state authorities, instead of attempting to stop the violence, kept on claiming that there was no communal tension anywhere in Tripura and further denied reports of any mosque being set ablaze. However, eventually, police protection was extended to several mosques; orders were issued under Section 144 IPC; and compensation was also announced for the victims of the violence”, the petition contended.

It also highlighted the aspect of police issuing notices to two advocates and invoking the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against 102 people, including journalists, “for reporting and writing on the recent communal violence in the state”.