Karimganj (Assam), 14 November: Two female journalists of Delhi-based digital media HW News Network, Samriddhi K Sakuniya and Swarna Jha, were being interrogated by the Nilam Bazar police in Karimganj district of Assam on Sunday evening.
As per the Tripura Police, the two have been accused of allegedly running a story of burning of Quran in a mosque in Gomti district and demolition of an under-construction mosque by a Hindu group, leading to violence in Maharashtra over the past two days.
The Police claimed that these journalists are part of a team that has been spreading false information about communal violence by coming in groups for the last two weeks. Both are said to have come on Thursday to cover up the alleged communal tension in the state.
According to sources, both of them had gone to Udaipur area of โโGomti district after coming to Tripura. After this, they reached the minority-majority localities of western Tripura.
On Saturday, both journalists reached Unnakoti district where they tried to instigate people by fabricated a story about the demolition of an under-construction mosque allegedly by a Hindu group in Pal Bazar area.
โIn the meantime, both had left Unnakoti district and stayed at the hotel in Dharmanagar, the headquarters of North Tripura. The police arrived in the night itself to serve the notice. A notice of section 153-A for inciting hatred between two groups on grounds of religion and 420-B for criminal conspiracy was given against both of them. However, they did not take notice at night,โ the police informed.
According to the police, they called a lawyer in Delhi and said that they are talking to Kapil Sibal. They wanted to catch a local train to Agartala the next morning to travel to Delhi, but were stopped at the hotel by the police. After sometime, a lawyer came and then they received the notice. The police allowed them to go up to Agartala, where they were to record their statements on November 21, but both of them left Tripura by road and reached Assam on Sunday.
According to the police, a case was registered against both of them at Phatikroy police station after receiving complaints against them.
According to allegations, Samriddhi and Swarna instigated local Muslims to get them to say against the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) that the Pal Bazar mosque had been demolished on October 23 while raising ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans. After the activation of Tripura Police, both tried to escape from Tripura.
On reaching Karimganj district city of Assam, on the information of Tripura Police, Nilambazar police of Karimganj are currently interrogating both of them at Karimganj police station.
