Pahalgam: Tripura Police Face Allegations of Bias Amid Arrests for Social Media Posts

Agartala: Some recent arrests made by the police in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Tripura have raised a cloud over the alleged bias displayed by the law-enforcement agency in the North-eastern state.

Several sections and Opposition parties have questioned the recent arrest of six people, including three retired teachers and a government employee, for various social media posts—ranging from questioning government failures to allegedly defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-- in the context of the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir, while alleging that no action has been taken against those openly calling for violence against minorities, secular persons, and Opposition party members.

The recent arrests reportedly came after some 'Hindu activists', identifying themselves as 'sanatanis', marched the streets or lodged police complaints, branding the accused, including some retired teachers, as “communists and anti-nationals”. They reportedly also unleashed a campaign for these arrests through online posts. 

Among those arrested are:

Jahar Debnath, a retired teacher from Ambassa in the Dhalai district in Tripura, who is alleged to have questioned the “perceived silence of Hindu deities during the killing of Hindus in Pahalgam” in a social media post. In another post, he demanded punishment for supporters of the Pahalgam attackers: “Those who support the brutality of Pahalgam should be hanged publicly.” Before his arrest, Debnath issued a statement saying: “If any of my posts hurt anyone, I apologize (in the context of questioning ‘silence’).”

Kuldip Mondol, a Students Federation of India (SFI) leader, from the same locality, was arrested for “supporting Debnath” and “expressing similar views”. Both were labelled as “communists” and “anti-national” by some Hindu outfits.

Debnath and Mandal have been charged under stringent Sections 152 and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and others. Section 152 criminalises inciting secession or rebellion against India, punishable by life imprisonment. Section 299 punishes deliberate insults to religious feelings, carrying up to three years' imprisonment or a fine. Both are under five days of judicial custody.

Sajal Chakraborty, a retired teacher from a northern Tripura sub-division, Dharmanagar, is said to have questioned intelligence failure in a social media post, suggesting similarities of Pahalgam with the Pulwama attack and its possible electoral implications. He demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah for the “lapses”. In a comment on someone else’s post, he once again suggested that with elections due in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal and Kerala, such an incident appeared “an attempt to gather support”.

Chakraborty has been charged under BNS Sections of 196, 352 and 353, for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintaining harmony. Section 196 criminalises actions or speech that incite hatred or disharmony between communities. Section 353 addresses statements or information that could lead to public mischief, fear, or harm, particularly when they incite hatred or enmity between different groups. Section 352 addresses the offense of intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace. It penalizes individuals who deliberately insult others, knowing or intending that their actions will incite a person to disturb public order or commit a crime.

Prabir Chaudhuri, another retired teacher from Dharmanagar, was arrested in follow-up action after a member of a saffron outfit complained against him a day after Chakraborty's arrest, for commenting “right” etc., on a post by Chakraborty. 

Mansoor Ali, a government employee in the state fire department, was arrested by the Dharmanagar police for posting images “defaming PM Modi, HM Amit Shah, and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.” 

In all the cases, certain ‘Hindu’ activists or BJP leaders are said to have filed cases or complaints.

Jahirul Islam from Sonamura, a religious minority-predominated sub-division in the Western Tripura, was arrested for a social media post for allegedly issuing a warning of violence against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He has been granted bail.

The arrests come in the backdrop of members of some saffron-aligned groups openly spreading hate against Muslims. For instance, Tripura Yuba Morcha (a ruling BJP affiliate) state spokesperson Amlan Mukherjee, in his posts, has labelled members of a religious minority community as “terrorists”. He has allegedly called upon Hindus to stop donating blood (for patients), and vowed not to donate blood to ‘****’.  In another post, the BJP youth leader has even reportedly made derogatory remarks “connecting the birth of ‘secular Left and Congress’ activists”. Mimicking the colonial British paraphrase of “Dogs and Indians…”, he has displayed a poster on his Facebook page, “Dogs and ****** are not allowed.”

It may be mentioned that BJP is in alliance with two Scheduled Tribe- based parties, IPFT and Tipra Motha, and has been running the state government.

In contrast to the arrests, questions are being raised as to why the police are yet to take action those spreading hate and enmity against the minority community via social media posts and videos. For instance, a purported video circulating on social media openly threatens gory physical violence against Muslims and secular voices, posted by one Chandan Debnath of Belonia in South Tripura.

In the wee hours, the police reportedly took Debnath to the police station and released him on a personal bond. This reporter spoke to the OC, who said they persecuted him under BNSS 126 and BNSS 129. 

In contrast, the retired teachers or a youth, who raised questions, and demanded the Home Minister's resignation for “lapses” or saw the possibility of national tragedies turning into electoral gains, are being prosecuted.

No action has also been taken against several persons affiliated with Hindutva outfits, such as one Pranab Das, a teacher from Sabroom, a southern sub-division, who called for violence against Muslims as well as “Secular Hindus, Congress, Trinamool and CPI(M)” in a social median post.

 “No ****** can live in our Tripura and India. If you see any ****** kill them and also kill Secular Hindus, Congress, Trinamool and CPI (M),” he reportedly wrote.

The arrests by Tripura Police seem to have only focused on those questioning the State’s failures, crticising BJP leaders or one-sided religious narratives. BJP youth leader Mukherjee’s communal posts continue without facing any legal action.

These are only a few instances amid the flood of posts and comments in social media after the Pahalgam terror incident. But, targeting secular and liberal persons seems to have become ‘normal’ in the state.  

In the past two days, two CPI(M) party offices, in Dharmanagar and Dukli, were attacked, including the personal car of a state-level Left leader.  A district-level Left leader Haridhan Debnath is recuperating in hospital after being allegedly attacked. 

According to political observers, the crackdown on social media posts appears to have been triggered by the demands made by some Hindutva groups, and stand in sharp contrast to Prime Minister Modi’s statements: “We are secular not because the word was added in our Constitution. Secularism is in our blood. We believe in Sarva Pantha Sambhava.” He tweeted these in 2014.

Meanwhile, CPI(M)’s Jitendra Chowdhury, who is Leader of Opposition in the Tripura Assembly, has reacted sharply to the recent events in the state.

"This is not the time for allegations and counter-allegations. It is a time of crisis when the whole nation must unite to fight terrorism, whether it is outside or inside the country, this is not the time for mudslinging. Unfortunately, I am seeing that ruling party workers and supporters are directly inciting violence.”

Chowdhury cited a teacher from Manubazar “openly saying that Muslims should not be allowed to stay in India and that CPI(M), Congress, and secularists should be attacked. Where are the police? Where is the cyber cell? Sadly, a retired teacher and a youth have been arrested in Ambassa for peaceful calls to unite people against terrorism. It is not a crime to call for peace. Why is there no action against ruling party leaders giving threats on social media?”

The CPI(M) leader urged the Chief Minister and DGP: “Please remember that the administration has no political party. If the administration acts with one eye closed, terrorists will be encouraged. This is not the right way to fight terrorism. Those writing such things on social media must refrain. The unity of the people of India is essential."

Despite repeated attempts by this writer, police authorities did not respond to queries. Messages and emails to IGP (Law and Order) Manchak Ippar and SP (Police Control) Ranadhir Debbarma remained unanswered. Only AIGP (Law and Order) Ananta Das responded, stating that he was on leave and could not comment, and advised contacting Debbarma, who is in-charge—but those attempts too yielded no response. Other police sources were tight-lipped when asked how the police were viewing the matter overall, including social media comments and counter-comments related to the Pahalgam incident. Some of the queries were: How many people have been arrested in total? Names and details? Exactly what charges have been filed against them, and under which sections? Regarding the posts that led to their arrests, what exactly was written? Some alleged obscene remarks about ‘Tripureshwari’ have circulated on social media, though the person in question posted an apology—has he been arrested? Also, a post demanding this person be 'sacrificed' has surfaced. A seemingly retaliatory post to his contains alleged derogatory remarks about another religious entity. Has any action been taken in these cases? Posts advocating violence against a particular community, Opposition party members, and secularists have appeared. Has any action been taken in these contexts? If not, surely there must be some reasons. What are those reasons? However, no response has been received by any officer, even after a considerable time has elapsed. 

Meanwhile, the Tripura Police has issued a warning against forwarding communal content—similar to statements made during the 2018 mob lynching spree, which resulted in few or no concrete actions. 

Also, the Chief Minister convened a meeting with the SPs and DMs, reportedly to identify foreigners staying in the state illegally. No Pakistanis have been found in the state so far, claimed a source.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Tripura. The views are personal.