Agartala: August 17: Kailashahar was gripped by tension on Sunday evening after pork meat and a threatening letter were discovered inside the century-old Tilabazar Jama Masjid. Police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) personnel were immediately deployed in large numbers to prevent any untoward incident.
The incident, reported under Irani Police Station, came to light when the mosque’s Imam noticed a plastic packet on the floor. On inspection, it was found to contain pork meat along with a letter. The letter claimed that “Tripura was once a Hindu state, Muslims did not live in Tilabazar, and the site originally belonged to Gaur Govinda’s temple. Therefore, the mosque must be demolished immediately.”
The discovery sparked anger among local residents, as Tilabazar and its adjoining areas are predominantly Muslim-populated. Prominent community leaders, including Gournagar Block Vice-Chairman Mohammad Badruzzaman, Tripura Waqf Board Chairman and former MLA Mofassar Ali, and Tilabazar Panchayat Pradhan Ohiduzzaman, rushed to the mosque.
Senior police officials—Irani Police Station OC Biraj Debbarma, Kailashahar SDPO Jayanta Karmakar, Additional SP of Unakoti District L. Darlong, and Deputy Magistrate Mati Lal Debbarma—reached the site to take stock of the situation. Later, Unakoti’s in-charge SP Abinash Rai also joined them.
Badruzzaman, speaking to reporters, linked the act to earlier provocations, including thefts of mosque donation boxes in Kailashahar and Gournagar, and a similar incident in Udaipur where pork was placed inside a mosque. He alleged that such attempts were aimed at disturbing communal harmony and urged people not to post inflammatory remarks on social media.
Waqf Board Chairman Mofassar Ali said miscreants were clearly behind the act and appealed for strict police action. By evening, local youths cleaned the mosque floor, but the atmosphere across Kailashahar subdivision remained tense.
