Two Female Journalists Booked While Reporting in Tripura District

Two women journalists reporting on recent instances of alleged religious vandalism in Tripura have been booked under sections relating to spreading communal disharmony, committing insult with intent of provoking breach of peace and criminal conspiracy.

The FIR against Samriddhi K Sakunia and Swarna Jha, based on a complaint by local Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists, has been registered at Fatikroy police station in Unakoti district where they have now been asked to appear on November 21.

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A senior official of Tripura Policeconfirmed that an FIR had been registered. “They were served notice under a case booked at Fatikroy police station to appear in next seven days. They received the notice and assured that they would come back in seven days,” he said.

In a series of tweets, the two journalists claimed they were in Tripura for a ‘ground report’ on last month’s communal disturbances and has sought police permission as well as protection for the same.

However, in the video tweets, they claimed the police collected their travel details citing grounds of security and later posted cops outside their hotel, preventing them from going anywhere.

When the police later asked them to come in for questioning on ‘very short notice’, they consulted their lawyers and later the police served them a notice asking to appear again on November 21 here, the journalists claimed.

A copy of the First Information Report (FIR) posted on Twitter by the journalists showed the complainant was one Kanchan Das of Kumarghat who claimed as “part of criminal conspiracy to destroy the communal harmony in Tripura as well as to malign the VHP and Tripura government, the accused intentionally imparted the name of VHP in that incident which could effect the harmony in between Hindu and Muslim community”.

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