Tension prevails in Tripura after houses torched

Agartala, May 16: Tension prevailed on Monday in Tripura's Kanchanpur areas where angry tribal refugees of Mizoram burnt and damages around 22 houses of locals the previous day, police said.

The Tripura government has sent a report to the union home ministry about the ethnic troubles, which caused around 100 local people to take shelter in safer places.

"A huge contingent of Tripura State Rifles (TSR) have been deployed in the trouble-torn areas. Situation is now fully under control, though there were some tension prevailing in the areas," north Tripura district police chief Manik Lal Das told IANS.

Das said that the local administration would provide all kinds of assistance and financial support to the affected people.

The arson by several hundred Reang tribal refugees was started on Sunday afternoon after Bhriguram Reang, 36, reportedly committed suicide on Sunday after he was beaten up by local people who accused him of catching fish from a pond without seeking permission from the owner.

At least seven police men and some fire service personnel were injured in the clashes.

Around 31,000 Reang tribals, who locally call themselves "Bru", are living in seven makeshift camps in northern Tripura for the past 19 years after they fled Mizoram following ethnic troubles.

With the directives of the Supreme Court and union home ministry, the Mizoram government has taken many initiatives to take back the refugees but they were reluctant to go back to their villages in western Mizoram unless their demands for food and security were met.

IANS