At least one person died in Tripura as police opened fire at protesters today. (Representational)
Guwahati:
At least one person died and several others were injured in North Tripura as police opened fire after a protest allegedly turned violent on Saturday.
According to the police, action was taken after agitators reportedly started pelting stones and blocked National Highway 8 in Panisagar town – 4 hours north of state capital Agartala.
Police have confirmed the death of at least one young man in the police firing on a group of people protesting in support of an indefinite bandh, or shutdown. Several others were also injured, police said.
Locals sources added that one personnel from the local fire department also reportedly died, but the police are yet to confirm his death.
The shutdown has been in place since November 16 to oppose the Central government’s decision to rehabilitate thousands of tribal Bru refugees.
Tribal Bru community had fled to neighbouring Mizoram 23 years ago following ethnic strife in Trupura. Their resettlement – a pet project of Home Minister Amit Shah – was seen as a major success of the Narendra Modi government in the country’s northeastern states, but the locals in Tripura’s Kanchanpur sub-division are strongly opposed to it.
