At Least 16 Mosques Vandalized in Tripura, India

New Delhi, MINA – At least 16 mosques were vandalized and Muslim-owned homes and shops burned over the past week in the northeastern state of Tripura, a civil rights group said Wednesday.

The Association for the Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) said there were at least 27 confirmed incidents of far-right mobs attacking mosques, homes and individuals in Muslim areas.

“This includes 16 incidents where a mosque was vandalized and the radical Hindu flag, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), was forcibly flown over it,” said M. Huzaifa of APCR as quoted from Anadolu Agency.

He said at least three mosques, the Palbazar mosque in the Unnakoti district, the Dogra mosque in the Gomati district and the Narola Tila in Vishalgarh were burned.

The APCR said nearly all of the attacks were carried out by various far-right groups, including the VHP, which ostensibly gathered to protest anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh.

On Tuesday, the government imposed article 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Dharmanagar and Kailashahar parts of North Tripura to prevent protests against violence in the state.

“However, there has been no action in areas that have seen vandalism by mobs. The state and police are creating the illusion of normalcy by deploying police personnel in some areas,” said Sultan Hussain, a resident in North Tripura and secretary of the Tripura branch of the Indian Islamic Students Organization. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)