Agartala:
One person was arrested in Tripura on Saturday in connection with the death of a fireman during an anti-Bru protest last month, police said. The development comes two days after The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) chairman and scion of the erstwhile Tripura royal family, Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, threatened to launch a massive agitation in the state if those responsible for the death of the fireman were not arrested.
Based on a case registered with Panisagar police station in North Tripura district, a 25-year-old resident of Kanchanpur was arrested, Deputy Inspector General of Police Lalhminga Darlong said. “Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb called me up and informed me that one person was arrested. We welcome the step but demand that the rest of the accused be arrested,” Debbarma told reporters here.
He also appealed to people to maintain peace and communal harmony. “I will request the chief minister to visit the house of slain fireman Biswajit Debbarma and meet his family. This will send a message that the state government stands in solidarity with the victims.
“He should also visit the house of Srikanta Das, who was killed in police firing on the same day (November 21),” he said. The fireman was critically injured in an attack by protesters and Das was killed allegedly in police firing during a road blockade organised by the Joint Movement Committee (JMC) in Panisagar on November 21 against the settlement of Mizoram’s displaced Brus in Kanchanpur sub- division in North Tripura district.
The fireman later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.
