News Analysis India

Tag: Tripura report

  • Tripura: Two female journalists arrested for allegedly ‘instigating’ communal enimity granted bail

    By PTI

    Tripura court released on bail two women journalists arrested for alleged inflammatory posts on communal violence.

    Two women journalists, who came to Tripura to write on the recent communal incidents in Tripura were detained by Assam police at Karimganj’s Neelam Bazar, close to Assam-Tripura border on Sunday, police officials in both states confirmed.

    Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha, journalists with HW News Network, were named in a FIR at Fatikroy Police Station of Tripura on Sunday based on a complaint filed by a supporter of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), alleging that they had maligned the image of Tripura government by their reporting, according to a statement issued by their employer.

  • Two female journalists arrested over Tripura communal violence granted bail

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Two Delhi-based women journalists arrested in Tripura on various charges, including criminal conspiracy, were granted bail by a local court.

    The journalists — — Sammriddhi K Sakunia and Swarna Jha –were granted bail by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court in the Gomati district of Tripura. They were arrested for their reportage on the vandalism at a mosque in the state.

    The court also asked the duo to appear before a local police station on Tuesday.

    The scribes, who work for HW News Network, were covering the recent violence in Tripura. The duo, who came to Tripura to write on the recent communal incidents in Tripura, were detained by Assam police at Karimganj’s Neelam Bazar, close to the Assam-Tripura border on Sunday.

    The Editors Guild of India had denounced police action against the journalists and demanded their immediate release. 

    After a supporter of a right-wing organisation had lodged an FIR against the duo in Tripura on Saturday night, they were booked under IPC sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace).

    The complainant, Kanchan Das, alleged in his FIR that they had visited some houses of one community at a village under Fatikroy Assembly constituency and made some inciting comments against another community and “conspiratorial” remarks against the state government. They visited the state to cover the recent violence.

  • Two female journalists arrested over Tripura communal violence reportage granted bail

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Two Delhi-based women journalists, arrested by Tripura police after they were booked on various charges, including criminal conspiracy, in connection with the recent violence in the state, were granted bail by a local court on Monday.

    Sammriddhi K Sakunia and Swarna Jha, both employees of HW News Network, were granted bail by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gomati on a surety of Rs 75,000. The court asked them to report to the Kakraban police station on Tuesday.

    Earlier, two cases were filed against them with Fatikroy and Kakraban police stations. They had arrived in Tripura on November 11 and visited some areas hit by the recent violence.

    Kanchan Das, who is a supporter of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, had filed an FIR with the Fatikroy police station alleging that the duo visited some houses of one community under Fatikroy Assembly segment and made some inciting comments against another community and conspiratorial remarks against the state government.

    The two scribes had sought time from the police for appearance in this case and accordingly, a notice was served on them for an appearance on November 21.

    The Kakraban police station case, filed suo moto, pertains to social media posts. They had left Tripura on Saturday morning but were detained in Assam’s Karimganj by the Assam police as sought by the Tripura police and brought to Tripura on transit remand for production before the court.

    In a statement, the Tripura police had said on Sunday that the duo’s “complicity has been transpired in connection with the Kakraban police station case regarding the creation of hatred between communities by fabricating, concealing of record etc in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy as revealed from the tweeter post posted by Sammriddhi Sakunia.”

    “…She posted a video of her visit to the half-burned prayer hall damaged by mischievous fire in the house of one Rahamat Ali of Hurijala…to claim that one holy Quran was burned in the incident occurred in the night of 19/10/2021…This is contrary to the findings so far revealed in course of investigation as the presence of no such damaged books/documents was brought to the notice of investigating officer and fire service staff who extinguished the fire,” the statement reads.

    Accusing the duo of making an escape towards Assam, the Tripura police said they were earlier found involved in “spreading communal hatred at Paul Bazaar under Fatikroy police station under North Tripura (district).”