Tripura violence: SC notice to Centre on plea for SIT probe

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 29

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre and Tripura Government on a petition seeking a SIT probe into violence against minority community in the state.

A Bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud asked them to respond to a petition filed by advocate Ehtesham Hashmi highlighting alleged hate crimes against the minority community in the state in October.

Hashmi, who had visited the riot-hit areas of Tripura with other Delhi-based advocates and published a fact-finding report, claimed that they had found that 12 mosques were damaged and several houses and shops of Muslims were also destroyed.

On the petitioner’s behalf, advocate Prashant Bhushan alleged that instead of taking action against the rioters, the police acted against the victims of hate crime as the state authorities were hand in glove with the perpetrators.

“They are not registering FIRs, they sent 41A notices to lawyers who worked on fact-finding reports and charged journalists under UAPA,” Bhushan said. The petitioner also raised the issue of police invoking the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against 102 people, including journalists, for reporting on the communal violence. The northeastern state recently witnessed incidents of arson, looting and violence after reports emerged from Bangladesh that Hindu minorities there had been attacked during “Durga Puja” on allegations of blasphemy.