Two Out of 12 Accused of Murdering a Journalist Join BJP

On January 2, five Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) members joined the BJP in Agartala. This comes despite the ongoing speculation of a poll alliance between the two parties. The members were Subhash Reang, Debendra Debbarma, Ramananda Debbarma, Pushrai Debbarma and Sunil Tripura. Of these members, the latter three are former youth members of the IPFT. The IPFT general secretary, Mewar Kumar Jamatiya, has distanced the party from these persons, by stating that he has never heard of them. Two of the members, Ramananda Debbarma and Pushrai Debbarma, are accused in the murder of a journalist, Shantanu Bhowmick.

Shantanu Bhowmick, a reporter for Dinraat, was attacked and killed on September 20, 2017, while reporting on a road blockade by the IPFT. The road blockade was for the demand of a separate state of Twipraland. Bhowmick was found with multiple wounds from a sharp object and died before he could be taken to a hospital. The two new ‘inductees’ into the BJP are among the 12 accused in this murder.

The Chief Minister, Manik Sarkar, has been embattled on various fronts. The road blockade in September 2017 placed great strain on supplies in the state, as the road that was blockaded was the only one linking Tripura to the rest of the country. There has been ongoing tension between the Chief Minister and the Governor, and the upcoming assembly polls have forced the governor to confront the aggressive communal push by the BJP, who have poached former Congress, TMC and IPFT members.