Agartala, September 29: The Tipra Motha party on Tuesday demanded immediate arrest of those allegedly involved in the shooting of its workers during the Village Committee elections in Udaipur and gave authorities 24 hours to act.
A nine-member delegation of senior Tipra Motha leaders submitted a deputation to the Tripura State Election Commission, seeking urgent intervention into the incident and steps to prevent further violence.
The delegation met senior election official Anurag Sen at the Commission’s office in Gorkhabasti here.
The delegation included TTAADC Chief Executive Member Runiel Debbarma, MLAs Ranjit Debbarma and Biswajit Koloi, and MDCs Suraj Debbarma, Jiten Debbarma and Prathmit Debbarma, besides other party representatives.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, MLA Ranjit Debbarma said the party had sought swift action since the incident was linked to the election process.
“If the attackers are not arrested within 24 hours, the party will announce its next course of action. Since the incident occurred in connection with the elections, we have demanded swift intervention from the Election Commission,” he said.
Debbarma alleged that despite the attackers arriving in vehicles and opening fire near a polling station, no arrests had been made even after 24 hours.
He claimed that some of the injured Tipra Motha workers had identified the alleged assailants and provided information to the police, but action was yet to follow.
The party leader said Tipra Motha representatives would visit the site of the incident and interact with local residents to collect details about what happened during the violence.
The party has also sought immediate measures to restore law and order and prevent similar incidents during the post-poll period.
Debbarma said the incident was particularly serious as it occurred in the context of an election and alleged that police personnel were also injured during the violence.
Describing the incident as “highly undesirable”, he stressed the need for adequate security at polling stations and protection of candidates, polling personnel and voters.
The demand comes a day after polling for the Village Committee elections under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), which were held after nearly a decade.
The elections witnessed participation from several political parties, including Tipra Motha, BJP, CPI(M), Congress and CPI(ML).
The allegations made by Tipra Motha are expected to be examined by the police and election authorities as part of efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding the violence and identify those responsible.
