Agartala: Nov 26. Dharmanagar plunged into severe political turmoil on Wednesday as multiple rallies and road blockades by BJP, CPI-M, ABVP and Congress converged across the town, sparking direct clashes and leaving several leaders injured. The most violent confrontation broke out near the DM office when a BJP rally arriving from Kalidighi came face-to-face with a CPI-M protest march, triggering pushing, shoving and alleged attacks.
Senior CPI-M state leader Amitava Dutta suffered a serious head injury with heavy bleeding, while district leader Ratan Roy and several others were also assaulted. Eyewitnesses said Dutta narrowly survived due to police intervention, though locals sharply criticised the administration for deploying far fewer police and TSR personnel than required to manage the massive crowds.
Soon after receiving reports, SP Avinash Rai, Additional SP Kamal Debbarma, and SDPO Jayanta Karmakar rushed to the spot, and additional forces were deployed to bring the situation under control.
The Congress also accused BJP workers of storming the party office, vandalising property and assaulting members “in front of the police,” questioning the role of the administration in handling the unrest.
Earlier in the day, tensions began escalating when Congress workers took out a protest rally around 11:30 am demanding arrests on Tuesday night’s arson attack on the Congress Bhavan. They blocked the road in front of their office for nearly half an hour, lifting it only after police promised swift action.
Minutes later, ABVP launched its own blockade reportedly without permission demanding the immediate arrest of Congress leader Jahangir Hossain for allegedly attacking ABVP member Aniket Deb on Tuesday afternoon.
The chain of unrest had actually begun yesterday, when a clash broke out between ABVP’s Aniket Deb and Congress leader Jahangir Hossain. Hours after that incident, miscreants allegedly set fire to the Dharmanagar District Congress office at night. Though fire services and administration controlled the blaze, political tension continued to simmer into Wednesday’s chaos.
Injured CPI-M leaders Amitava Dutta and Ratan Roy are now undergoing treatment at Dharmanagar District Hospital.
With four different political groups taking out rallies and blockades within a span of hours, Dharmanagar’s normal life was virtually paralysed. Police presence has since been intensified in key locations as the town remains on edge.
