Shops were vandalized and vehicles were set on fire during clashes that erupted in Agartala.
Twenty people were injured, shops vandalized and vehicles were set on fire during clashes that erupted on the streets of Agartala this evening following a rally organised by the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura or IPFT.
The IPFT, which wants to break away from Tripura and have a separate state for the tribal population, was observing what it calls the "Tipraland Statehood Demand Day". Arround 10,000 people had gathered for the rally at the Astable ground, a popular venue for political gatherings.
While the procession was on its way, a scuffle took place and there was stone pelting, the police said. "It was a small incident which escalated," said Abhijit Saptarshi, Superintendent of Police, adding the situation is under control.
Prohibitory orders have been imposed and paramilitary forces are patrolling the streets of Agartala.
Many members of the tribal community were stranded at the Astable ground till the evening and the administration had to arrange buses with escorts to send them home. Others were taken to police stations to protect them from angry mobs.
"The situation is under control and we are monitoring it constantly," District Magistrate and Collector Milind Ramteke told NDTV.
Dr Surajit Deb Barma, who belongs to the tribal community in Tripura, told NDTV his car was attacked by miscreants.
Local shopkeepers blamed "trouble makers" who had come to attend the rally. "Our shops were looted and women were harassed. They were beating up whoever came in their way," one of them told NDTV.