IJU expresses concern over targeting media under UAPA in Agartala, demands fair probe

Nov. 8: Indian Journalists Union (IJU) today expresses concern over the tendency and initiative to target
journalists along with other social media users by the Tripura government in Agartala and demands a fair probe into the incidents that led to the unwanted action.

“Slapping brutal laws against the opposition voices will not serve the purpose. Rather it will aggravate the situation,” commented IJU president K. Sreenivas Reddy and secretary general Balwinder Singh Jammu, adding that the government should handle the issue amicably. It may be mentioned that the State police has lately booked 102 people under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for digital media posts reflecting the recent violence where a religious place of minority community was shown as burning by some activists.

The authority claimed that many of social media posts comprising video clippings, photographs, motivated comments, etc had the potential to flare up communal violence and hence it was compelled to take harsh
actions. The opposition parties have already criticised the government actions. The police also  booked four New Delhi-based lawyers under the UAPA soon after they visited Tripura and organised  a press conference in the national capital, where they alleged that minorities were harassed there in the aftermath of anti-Hindu vandalism in Bangladesh.