A fire service personnel succumbed to serious injuries received in the clash between police and protesters against the resettlement of Bru in the Panisagar subdivision in the northern district of Tripura on Saturday, bringing the death toll to two.
Up to 23 people, including 15 police and security personnel, were injured in the clash. Two members of the security staff, including Biswajit Debbarma, were referred to Govind Ballabh Pant hospital in Agartala on Saturday in critical condition. Biswajit later succumbed to the head injury he received in the confrontation, a police officer said Sunday.
Two local organizations, namely Nagarik Suraksha Mancha and Mizo Convention, under the banner of the Joint Movement Committee, started an indefinite strike in Kanchanpur in the northern district against the permanent resettlement of Bru migrants on November 16. They want Bru migrants to settle in the eight districts. state and not focus on the Kanchanpur subdivision.
Subsequently, the movement spread to different parts, including Panisagar, Pecharthal and Kailashahar in the Unakoti district. They blocked National Highway 8 in Panisagar on Saturday, where protesters turned violent and tried to snatch weapons from security personnel. Police had to resort to charging lathi and then opening fire to control the situation, police said.
The 46-year-old carpenter, Srikanta Das, also a protester, was killed in the shooting.
More than 32,000 Bru migrants have been staying in six relief camps located in Kanchanpur and Panisagar subdivisions in the northern district for more than two decades after they arrived here from Mizoram’s Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts in 1997, escaping of an ethnic confrontation.
Also read: Tripura: Bru resettlement should not bother the locals, says CPI (M)
After these years, in January, the Center signed an agreement with the governments of Tripura, Mizoram and the Bru migrants for their permanent settlement in Tripura. The Center also announced a package of 600 million rupees for their resettlement.
The state government has ordered a judicial investigation into the violent confrontation, to be carried out by the northern district magistrate, Nagesh Kumar, and the report will be presented within a month.
The government also announced Rs. 5 lakh as compensation for the dead carpenter’s family.
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