Agartala, Oct 12: Police have arrested four more persons in connection with the alleged vandalism of a vehicle belonging to an Inspector General of Police during the counting of votes in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) village committee elections at Thalibari, officials said on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Sona Manik Tripura (29), Bajendra Tripura (31), Bhadra Kumar Tripura (38) and Jatrapada Tripura (39). All four are residents of Dhuppchhara Para, police said.
A police team led by Jatrapur police station officer-in-charge Partha Nath Bhowmik, accompanied by Tripura State Rifles (TSR) personnel, cordoned off the locality and apprehended the four men around 8.30 pm on Sunday.
The accused were subsequently brought to the police station for further legal proceedings. They were scheduled to be produced before the Sonamura court on Monday, the officer said.
The latest arrests mark the third phase of the police operation in connection with the incident. Police are continuing efforts to trace and apprehend other persons named in the case, officials said.
Bhowmik said police were treating the alleged vandalism of the senior police officer’s vehicle seriously and that legal action would be taken against all those found involved.
He said the police would continue their operations to apprehend the remaining accused. The investigation is aimed at identifying those allegedly involved in the incident and establishing their individual roles, the officer indicated.
The incident occurred at Thalibari on the day of counting of votes in the TTAADC village committee elections and reportedly triggered tension in the area.
Following the incident, police launched an investigation and initiated a series of operations to identify and arrest those allegedly responsible for damaging the vehicle.
The latest operation was conducted in Dhuppchhara Para, where the police team, assisted by TSR personnel, cordoned off the locality before detaining the four accused.
Officials said the investigation was continuing and further arrests could not be ruled out as police pursued other persons allegedly involved in the incident.
Police have reiterated that those found responsible for the vandalism would face legal action. The latest arrests constitute another phase of the ongoing probe into the incident linked to the counting of votes in the village committee elections.
The police have not provided a specific timeline for the arrest of the remaining accused.
