A group of people in Tripura’s Gomati district on Saturday allegedly destroyed nearly 6,000 copies of a regional newspaper after snatching them from buses, The Indian Express reported. The newspaper’s editor alleged that reports on an agriculture scam triggered the incident.
“We published a series of reports in which Agriculture Minister Pranajit Singha Roy’s name came up among others,” Pratibadi Kalam Editor Anol Roy Chowdhury told The Indian Express. He added that the newspaper had published the reports over the last three days and the scam was to the tune of Rs 150 crore. Chowdhury said that the accused burnt half of the newspapers and tore and discarded the others.
Chowdhury named 11 people in his police complaint. He alleged that they forcibly unloaded bundles of newspapers from a bus moving on the Agartala-Sabroom and burnt and tore copies on the road. He added that other buses carrying the newspaper were also stopped.
Tripura Director General of Police Rajiv Singh, told The Indian Express that a complaint was registered in connection with the incident and that the police were trying to identify the accused.
Members of the Agartala Press Club, meanwhile, met Deputy Inspector General of Police Soumitra Dhar and demanded strict action against the accused, PTI reported.
The Assembly of Journalists, on the other hand, gave the police a 24-hour deadline to arrest the accused and threatened to launch protests.
Senior journalist Jayanta Bhattacharya said that the incident was a violation of the rights of the media, according to The Indian Express. Bhattacharya added that it will become increasingly difficult for media houses to reach people if such attacks continue.
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