Agartala: August 24: Despite nearly eleven days passing since the attack on journalists, the state police administration has yet to arrest anyone. In response, agitated journalists from Dharmanagar met with North Police Superintendent Bhanupada Chakraborty on Saturday morning to express their concerns.
During the meeting, the journalists detailed the incident that occurred on August 14th, where they were attacked while covering the chaotic aftermath of the tri-tier Panchayat election results at Haflong Tea State School, the temporary vote counting center for Yuvrajnagar block. The attack happened when BJP workers, upset over a faulty result uploaded on the Election Commission’s portal, went to complain to the local Returning Officer and Block Officer of Yuvrajnagar. As journalists attempted to report on the situation, they were unexpectedly attacked by agitated individuals in front of the police. Three journalists from Dharmanagar were injured, and the attackers attempted to snatch their mobile phones.
A case was filed at Dharmanagar police station with the names and addresses of the attackers, but no significant action has been taken by the police so far. This prompted the journalists to meet with Superintendent Chakraborty to demand action.
The journalists warned that if the police do not take strict action soon, they will escalate their protest. Superintendent Chakraborty assured them that action would be taken against the culprits promptly.
