Tarapur resident 'threatened' for writing against Durba Paul and Co. on social media  

In a startling incident, a resident of Tarapur has reportedly been threatened by a group of unidentified youths for repeatedly writing and posting statuses on social media about an assault on two tribal woman-vendors in Silchar on November 24.

Two vendors Gracy Hmar and Lalmounpui Hmar, both residents of Hmarkhawlien village in Cachar district, were beaten up recently at a roadside market at Jail Road in Silchar for allegedly stealing a stray dog to sell its meat. An FIR was lodged on December 5 following a video of the assault surfaced on social media. A case was thereafter registered and a probe initiated.

The video, which has been making the rounds on social media, shows a girl identified as Durba Paul abusing, threatening, dragging and assaulting one of the woman vendors. Two others identified as Priya Mazumder and Sagnick Gupta were present at the spot. All the three suspects are absconding.

According to sources, Partha Das (29), employee with a private company and a resident of Tarapur, was threatened by around 5-6 youths at E.N.D. Colony, Tarapur around 5:45pm on Sunday evening. The youths, who came on bikes asked Partha to stop writing and posting statuses against Durba, Priya and Sagnick on social media and threatened him of dire consequences if he did not comply with what they said.

In response, Partha told the youths that he would continue writing about the suspects (Durba, Priya and Sagnick) and the incident. He was not going to get intimidated by their threatening, he said.

Sources said Partha came live on Facebook on Tuesday night and narrated the entire incident. The ten-minute live session has evoked a remarkable attention from a large number of users.

Speaking to Barak Bulletin on Thursday, Partha confirmed the incident and said he would not stop writing about the assault.

“The youths arrived at E.N.D. Colony, Tarapur on bikes and asked me about Partha. When I said I’m Partha, one of them questioned whether I had written anything on social media about the Jail Road-assault. When I responded in affirmative, they asked me to stop writing about Durba Paul, Priya Mazumder and Sagnick Gupta,” he said.

Asked why he did not file a complaint with the police regarding the incident, Partha said he did not want to get into any legal matter and thought of speaking up about the incident on social media. He, however, mentioned that he would approach the police if anyone threatens him further over the incident.

Cachar superintendent of police Rakesh Roushan told Barak Bulletin over phone on Thursday afternoon that the three suspects Durba, Priya and Sagnick were absconding and efforts were on to apprehend them.

“Raids are being carried out at different places. They will be held soon,” he said.

Sources said the suspects, who have been at large after the FIR was lodged, were perhaps trying to get bail from the Gauhati High Court. Their family members could not be contacted in this regard.

Meanwhile, the incident, which has been a hot-topic across social media platforms for the past few days, has also drawn sharp reactions from various organisations in Silchar and Barak Valley. Organisations including the Barak Valley Hmar Students’ Association, All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association, All Assam Manipuri Students’ Union and Manipuri Youths’ Front of Assam among others have expressed their fury over the assault and demanded stern action against those involved.

Lalsiemthar Hmar, vice-president of the Barak Valley Hmar Students’ Association said all the culprits should be arrested at the earliest. He questioned why the tribal vendors had not been called in the court to record their statement and raised questions on the role of the police authority.

He said they would organise a press conference in a couple of days (after the panchayat election results are declared) and speak to the media to narrate their grievances regarding the matter.

Rupam Nandi Purkayastha, advisor to the All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association, vociferously condemned the assault and demanded strict action against those involved. “We will meet the Cachar superintendent of police on Thursday and urge him to fast-track the probe so that the culprits are held at the earliest,” he added.

On being contacted, Assam excise and fisheries minister Parimal Suklabaidya, the only minister from Barak Valley, said he came to know about the incident of assault a couple of days back and had contacted the police over the matter.

He said the police were extremely busy in the panchayat election duties, which has affected the investigation process. He, however, assured that the culprits would be arrested soon and action would be taken against them.

Silchar MLA Dilip Kumar Paul said he was aware about the incident. “The police authority can tell about the status of the case,” he said.