Agartala: A mob torched Muslim properties and desecrated a mosque at the Shimultala area of Unakoti district in Tripura on January 10, making this the newest site of destruction in a state that has seen repeated incidents of communal violence in the past year. While police remain uncertain whether the violence stemmed from a puja subscription dispute or a traffic altercation, political parties have come forward with their conflicting versions of events.Speaking to The Wire on Tuesday, January 14, Unakoti Superintendent of Police Avinash Rai mentioned that multiple narratives have emerged on what started the violence.“There are many account. One group is saying the conflict started from a fundraising drive. Another group says it started from a heated conversation between an e-rickshaw driver and a bike rider. There is also another version – that a local truck driver struck a bike,” Rai stated.Rai said police are investigating the case. “But it is clear that there was a verbal altercation between people of two communities, which turned into communal violence. As soon as we learned about it, we immediately went there and controlled the situation within half an hour,” he added.On Friday, January 16, Kumarghat Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Utpalendu Debnath told The Wire that 13 individuals have been arrested and are now under judicial custody. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was withdrawn on the same day.Addressing the extent of damage, Debnath stated, “Two shops were gutted, and a hay stack at a house’s courtyard was burnt.”A car after it was set on fire at Shimultala area of Unakoti district in Tripura. Photo: By arrangement.‘Our mothers and sisters’The chairman of TIPRA Motha Party’s Minority Cell, Mohammad Shah Alam Miah, who visited the affected site on Thursday, January 15, while prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS were still in place, painted a severe picture of the destruction. After submitting a deputation at Fatikroy Police Station, Miah addressed the media.“After visiting the place, we were shocked. Where are we living? Is there any system of administration in this state? The tiles of a mosque were burnt, the microphones used for the Azaan were burnt, and the Quran inside was burnt. Cash belonging to the imam worth Rs 35,000, his international passport, and his clothes were all burnt,” Miah said.“There was a madrasa next to the mosque, which was also set on fire. Along with that mosque, a house was completely burnt and destroyed, as were a truck and two tractors. A wooden shop was set on fire. Next to it there was a goat shop, where he probably sold mutton…the goats were also stolen,” he added.The administration has failed to provide immediate relief to the affected families, Miah claimed. “The most shameful incident of all is that the administration did not provide any assistance to the 50 to 60 families there. They are still sitting without food,” he alleged.Moreover, Miah claimed that the victims were being portrayed as perpetrators. “They are dragging our mothers and sisters forward, making them pose for photographs while holding sticks and bottles, trying to brand us as extremists. They will say the bottles contained petrol and claim that our mothers and sisters burned down their own homes. A Class 12 student has been arrested. Those who were attacked are the ones who have been made the accused,” he stated.Miah also alleged that the police crackdown had created an atmosphere of fear in the village. “There are no men left in the village as police have arrested people randomly. The men ran away and hid themselves out of fear. The women in the village are sitting without food,” he said.TIPRA Motha’s Minority Cell Chairman shows a burnt Quran at Shimultala area of Unakoti district in Tripura. Photo: By arrangement.Several women in the village also alleged that the arrested Class 12 student has his board examinations soon and that it is unfair that he is unable to participate in the registration process which has already started. Speaking to The Wire, Kumarghat SDPO Debnath said that legal action was being initiated against Miah for violating prohibitory orders.“We are taking legal action against him also, because he went to that place without permission during the promulgation of Section 163 of the BNSS. The statements he gives are spreading hate among other communities,” Debnath said.“The incident happened and we cannot reverse it, but as a civil society, our duty is to normalise that situation. But the statements he spreads are making the situation worse,” Debnath added.“I personally went there to the Muslim areas and talked to the people, and everything is normal now. But if they talk to the families whose family members have been arrested, then they will of course speak against us,” he added.The SDPO emphasised that all national political parties had to take permission from the police before visiting the site.“We told them to go there after the withdrawal of Section 163 of the BNSS, which was withdrawn today, January 16. As we were busy with the chief minister yesterday, he took the chance and went there. We are investigating the root cause, and you should not stand in the way of our findings,” Debnath stated.Tripura is burning: CongressWhile addressing the media on January 10, Tripura Pradesh Congress president Asish Kumar Saha drew a direct connection between the incident and what he described as a pattern of communal violence under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule.“Since BJP rule began in the country, communal divisions have been created across the nation. Sometimes it is Hindu-Muslim, sometimes Hindu-Christian, and sometimes Hindu-Buddhist. There has always been a divide among them. Similarly, in our state under eight years of BJP rule, communal riots have started. This incident is nothing new as similar communal riots have been witnessed earlier in Dharmanagar, Udaipur, and Agartala,” Saha said.According to Saha, the violence began with a puja subscription demand. “As far as I know, subscription money was demanded from a Muslim shopkeeper for a festival. From there the trouble started, and his shop was vandalised and set on fire. Then his house was also set on fire and vandalised. Even tractors and vehicles were set ablaze. Alongside this, the houses of his relatives were also vandalised and set on fire,” he stated.Property belonging to a Muslim man, after it was set on fire at Shimultala area of Unakoti district in Tripura. Photo: By arrangement.Saha sharply criticised the state government’s claims of maintaining law and order. “Even after all this has happened, how can the chief minister claim that law and order in the state is perfectly fine? The chief minister himself knows that the people of the state do not believe what he is saying. That is why he had the state DGP hold a press conference to say that Tripura’s law and order situation is perfectly fine and that good governance is running in the state,” Saha said.“Is this good governance? Not even 24 hours have passed since the press conference, and everyone is seeing Tripura burning. People of the minority community in Tripura are fleeing in fear. Even after all this, how can he claim that good governance is running in the state?” he questioned.The Congress president likened the current state of affairs to jungle raj. “A lawless situation is prevailing in the state. According to the information I have received, the youth wing of BJP and the ruling party’s village head and deputy head all went there and created mayhem. I demand strict punishment against all of them,” Saha asserted.CM’s roadshow CPI(M) politburo member and Tripura assembly Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury, speaking on January 10, alleged systematic cultivation of violence by the local MLA representing the Fatikroy assembly constituency, Sudhangshu Das.“In our state, particularly in Fatikroy assembly constituency, the MLA is continuously fomenting this violence, and these innocent people are becoming victims of it. I have heard that this incident started at 9 am this morning, and even after the fire service was informed, they were not allowed to reach there. When fire service personnel reached there after about two hours, they could not save anything, so several families have lost everything,” Chaudhury stated.According to Chaudhury, the violence was triggered by excessive subscription demands. “According to the information we have received, a Muslim timber seller arrived in front of his shop with a truck loaded with sawn timber. At that time, some local people went there to collect subscription money for a fair. It could be that the subscription amount was so high that he refused. After that, those youth spread some communal rumours and started creating mayhem. Then groups of people came from outside and started attacking that place. His shop was burnt, vehicles were set on fire, and houses were vandalised and set on fire,” he said.Chaudhury drew parallels with previous incidents across the state. “Some leaders of the ruling party have taken the oath of the constitution and become MLAs. These incidents are happening because of their provocative statements, like what happened at Koitor Bari, Gandacherra, and Pekuacherra in Panisagar. And now today at Fatikroy. Such incidents keep happening one after another,” he said.According to Chaudhury, none of the previous incidents have seen proper accountability. The CPI(M) politburo member also mentioned that he saw a disturbing video showing affected families alleging police bias.“A while ago, a video came to us where a woman is saying in front of the camera that her house has been attacked, her shops have been burnt, that the fire service came after two hours, and that they have lost everything. She says that the police are trying to arrest her people. I am verifying how much of this is true. If this is true, it is very unfortunate. I would request the police to deal with this with a strong hand,” Chaudhury said.The leader of opposition also criticised the chief minister Manik Saha’s response to the crisis. “In our state, the administrative and political executive have no remorse and no sensitivity. This morning when the incident happened, the chief minister was doing a roadshow. He went to Kanchanpur and held a big rally. There is not a single mention of this incident. If he were truly sensitive, he would have left everything else and gone to that place,” Chaudhury said.Atmosphere of fearOn January 12, a delegation from the Communist Party of India (CPI) attempted to visit the violence-hit Shimultala village but was prevented by police, including SDPO Debnath, citing Section 163 restrictions. The delegation included CPI Tripura state secretary Milan Baidya, state secretariat members Rasbihari Ghosh and Nilmani Deb, women’s leader Hasna Begam and others.CPI leadership reported that minority communities in the area have been living in extreme fear since the incident, with many families unable to access markets or carry out daily activities. They appealed to the administration to ensure there is no shortage of food and daily necessities for the affected minorities.The delegation demanded comprehensive assessment of losses suffered by affected minority families and appropriate compensation. They also called for quick repair of damaged religious institutions, mosques, houses, and vehicles.“Such an atmosphere of fear and unrest has never been seen in the state before,” they stated, strongly urging the administration and government to immediately restore an atmosphere of peace.A gutted truck at Shimultala area of Unakoti district in Tripura. Photo: By arrangement.Congress doing vote bank politics: SudhangshuCabinet minister and Fatikroy MLA Sudhanshu Das dismissed opposition claims as “false rumours” and accused the Congress of anti-Hindu politics. Addressing the media on January 11, Das urged opposition parties to refrain from spreading communal incitement.“Even with internet services suspended, attempts are being made through fundraising and provocative statements to mislead the common people,” Das alleged.The minister claimed that opposition allegations about houses of a particular community being vandalised were fabricated. “Instead of spreading such rumours, I invite the opposition to visit the spot if necessary and see the real situation,” he stated.“Congress is an anti-Hindu party and has been doing politics of opposition to Sanatan Dharma. Congress only does vote bank politics, whereas the Bharatiya Janata Party does not calculate vote banks,” he added.Contradicting the fund-collection narrative, Das claimed a bike collided with a truck loaded with timber and set off the fight. “Subsequently, a person named Musabbir Ali came and claimed the timber was his, which further complicated the situation,” he claimed.Left’s regimeCM Manik Saha, during his North Tripura district tour on January 11, addressed questions raised by the local media regarding the communal disturbance at Shimultala. Saha claimed that the administration was handling the situation with utmost seriousness.“It is advisable not to make unnecessary political comments on such matters. The administration is working to keep the situation under control,” he remarked and referred to incidents during the Left Front regime. “During CPI(M) rule, similar incidents occurred in Mandwi and Khowai, and even one of their ministers was brutally murdered. What role did they take then?” he asked.