Two held for Tripura scribe murder

Sekhar Datta, TT, Agartala, Sept. 21: Two IPFT cadres have been arrested for the killing of a journalist in Tripura yesterday. A 12-hour Jirania subdivision bandh called by the CPM from 6am to protest the murder passed off peacefully today.

Deputy inspector-general of police A.K. Nath said the police have identified 11 IPFT cadres involved in the murder of Santanu Bhowmik, 29, a reporter with local cable news channel Din Raat. Two of them, identified as Vikash Debbarma, 26, and Tarun Debbarma, 27, were arrested today and produced in the magistrate's court, which remanded them in 14-day police custody. "We will interrogate them and nab the remaining nine culprits. They are currently on the run but we will get them soon. We will also press for custodial trial and speedy submission of chargesheets," he said.

Nath said last night inspector-general of police (law and order) K.V. Sreejesh and superintendent of police (West) Abhijeet Saptarshi had gone to hold discussions with IPFT workers and leaders at Khumulwng, headquarters of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council in Jirania subdivision, but they were assaulted by a section of IPFT workers.

Sreejesh was attacked with a machete but he escaped because he had a bullet-proof jacket. Saptarshi was hit on the head but he managed to evade the full impact of the blow. Both of them returned to Agartala.

Giving details of yesterday's incident, Jirania subdivisional magistrate Bimbisar Bhattacharjee said the Gana Mukti Parishad (GMP), tribal front organisation of the CPM, had called a meeting at Mandai mini-stadium last afternoon. The IPFT had been looking for an opportunity to sabotage the programme and picked on a flimsy pretext that the GMP supporters had damaged their party flags. A pitched battle ensued with heavy brick-batting between the two groups.

At this point, Bhowmik and two other reporters reached the spot around 12.45pm and started taking photographs despite pleas by the police to leave the place. The other two left but Bhowmik remained.

He was chased by armed, unruly IPFT cadres who threw him on the road by hurling a brick at him, dragged him to a roadside jungle and hacked him to death.

Bhowmik is the first journalist to have been killed by a political party's cadres though sporadic attacks on journalists have taken place in the state on many occasions.

Manoranjan Debbarma, a five-time CPM MLA from Mandai, said the IPFT is trying to sharpen ethnic polarisation in the state with its demand for a separate Twipraland. He said IPFT leaders have been inciting tribal youths against non-tribals, which has now led to an "explosive situation".

He alleged that the IPFT was trying to capture as many Assembly seats reserved for tribals as possible to reach an understanding with the BJP. "In the last two elections, the CPM won 19 of the 20 reserved seats. They are trying to reverse the trend in next year's Assembly polls but that will not be possible. So they are resorting to dirty tricks."

The state government has deployed the Assam Rifles while West Tripura district magistrate Milind Ramteke has requisitioned army columns for flag march and subsequent deployment in the troubled areas.

The media fraternity was up in arms today after a second brush with the murder of one of its own this month. The Press Club of India, Indian Women's Press Corps, Press Association, Federation of Press Clubs in India and the North-East Media Forum issued a joint statement demanding a swift probe.

"Santanu's life was taken away by mindless violence when he was discharging his professional journalistic duties. It is a reckless, inhuman act to silence the voice of the free press in the country and an assault on the freedom of press," the statement said. They extended solidarity with Tripura Journalists' Union and demanded adequate compensation to Bhowmik's family. They have called a protest meeting tomorrow.

The Shillong Press Club expressed deep grief and angst over the killing. The National Union of Journalists India with Journalists Association of Assam, and its Tripura affiliate condemned the murder and demanded strict action against the culprits.

The Kerala Union of Working Journalists staged a protest in Delhi.

The South Asia Media Defenders Network said the killing goes beyond media freedom and involves the right to life and liberty, the most fundamental of all rights. "Coming as it does only days after the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bangalore, this is a reminder of the increasing violence being directed towards mediapersons across India. Reporters on the field in far-flung areas are particularly vulnerable to such attacks and intimidation."

Last night, the Foundation of Media Professionals condemned the murder and pointed out that the Northeast has long been a zone of impunity where various militant groups have threatened, attacked and often killed journalists trying to do their jobs. "Even political parties and security forces are known to intimidate journalists in the many conflict zones that dot the region. We call upon all groups to ensure safety of mediapersons going about their jobs."

The CPM Politburo, in a statement issued in Delhi today, accused "BJP-backed IPFT miscreants" for Bhowmik's killing and demanded that the culprits be brought to book immediately.

"On the heels of the murder of Gauri Lankesh has come yet another killing of a progressive journalist. There is a clear pattern in this employed by the RSS-BJP particularly in the states were elections are due of silencing progressive journalists and the dissemination of truth to the people," it said.

Online, too, the CPM challenged Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's contention that the Left party has much to answer. "I highly condemn brutal killing of young #Tripura TV journalist Shantanu Bhowmik. Sri Manik Sarkar's @cpimspeak govt has much to answer," Sarma had tweeted.

Pat came the reply from @cpimspeak, the CPM's official Twitter handle: "`Stop spreading lies. BJP directly supporting IPFT who murdered Shantanu Bhowmik after accusing him of being @cpimspeak supporter!"

As the right-wing sought to turn Bhowmik's killing into a law and order situation in the CPM-ruled state, the Left party circulated a letter of October 2016 in which the BJP's state treasurer affirms that he had given Rs 2 lakh to IPFT president N.C. Debbarma for spending in a byelection as instructed by the party's central leadership.

Lyricist Javed Akhtar said in a tweet, "Once again some people have tried to eradicate freedom of expression, independent voices and democratic values by killing Shantanu Bhowmik."

IPFT president Narendra Chandra Debbarmna today said, "I have no word or sentence strong enough to condemn this heinous crime. It is not our party's policy to assault the media to whom we go to frequently. This is also dangerous for democracy. If the police seek our help, we will help them identify the culprits," he said.

Additional reporting by Anita Joshua in New Delhi and Andrew W. Lyngdoh in Shillong