At a time when there are voices being raised about how there is stoic silence in the Shantanu Bhowmik murder when compared to the Gauri Lankesh murder, the episode brings back the horrors of the infamous Mandai massacre in Agartala.
Scribe of a local media outlet RaatDin, Shantanu Bhowmik was killed by IPFT (Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura), a tribal party in the state. 4 people have been detained so far.
Dragged by a mob Bhowmik was killed with sharp cutting weapons by miscreants.
Bhowmick was first hit on his legs with a stick and was later hit on the head. His body was dragged by mob and hidden behind local stadium.
Nearly a hundred activists of Gana Mukti Parishad (GMP), the tribal wing of the ruling CPI(M), were injured.
The clash happened when the Parishad’s supporters gathered at the bus stand at Khowai town to travel to Agartala.
A political reporter he was out to cover an event.
The clash reportedly erupted between supporters of the IPFT and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the Khowai, Teliamura and Jirania subdivisions.
The IPFT is demanding a separate tribal State called Twipraland.
The murder that left people in shock and awe has come just a fortnight after the brutal murder of Karnataka journalist Gauri Lankesh.
Police has been on high alert and Sec 144 has been imposed to keep mischief mongers at bay.
Mandai the epicentre of the brutal killing of Shantanu Bhowmik has been notorious for the infamous Manda massacre of 1980. It was here that the general massacre of Bengali Hindus of Mandai near Agartala took place on 8 June 1980, by tribal insurgents.
Many victims had their heads crushed and limbs severed. The children were spiked through. Pregnant women had their stomach slit open.
Official figures show 255 Hindus were massacred, while foreign press, independent sources and eyewitnesses put the figure anywhere between 350 and 400.
The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura was formed in 1996, with backing of banned separatist group National Liberation Front of Tripura.
It joined hands with the Tripura Upjati Juba Samiti, the state’s first tribal party and later the Tribal National Volunteers.
Together, the trio came to be known as the Indigenous Nationalist Party.
The party after internal turbulence saw a split into Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura and the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra.
As Tripura votes soon the IPFT is once again back into limelight.
Tripura’s 60-seat Assembly is reserved for its large tribal population – which accounts for over 30% of its total population.
BJP is believed to have backed the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura in by- elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
Something that has been taken note off, while a probe in the elimination of Bhowmik is initiated.
There are growing calls for a separate state of Twipraland which account for almost 70% of the state’s total land area.
Bhowmik’s death brings number of reporters killed in India since the early 1990s to 29, as per the Committee to Protect Journalists.
According to US-based non-profit Committee for Protection of Journalists, the killing of Santanu Bhowmik in Tripura’s Khowai district was the 72nd murderous assault on an Indian journalist since 1992.
93 journalists and media professionals were killed in 2016, according to a report by the International Federation of Journalists.
India ranks eighth in the list of number of media professionals killed in the past year.
In 2015 India was ranked deadliest in Asia for journalists by Reporters Without Borders. Most deaths occur in remote rural areas away from the major urban centres. In April, the press freedom group ranked India 136th of 180 countries in its world press freedom ratings.
There has been strong condemnation of the murder coming from the media fraternity. The murder has been termed “reckless” and “inhuman” to silence the voice of the free press.
The Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Association, Federation of Press Clubs in India and the North East Media Forum issued a joint statement demanding a swift probe.
The Tripura Journalists’ Union demands a CBI inquiry.
From unearthing scams to exposing criminal nexus of political bigwigs or even criticizing the government – there are ample reasons for journalists being targeted in the country.
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