Two Detained Female Journalists Brought back from Assam to Tripura

Two female journalists Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha reporting on the recent situations of communal violence in Tripura were detained by the Assam Police on Sunday 14 November at Nilambazaar located in Karimganj district of Assam which is near the boundary of Tripura and Assam.

Both the women journalist were allegedly publishing and broadcasting fake and baseless news with the purpose of disturbing the communal peace in Tripura. They were handed over to the Tripura Police on Monday morning

A group of women police personnel was sent to the Karimganj district from Dharmanagar to bring back the journalists in Tripura for further police interrogation. The two journalists working for HW News Network were earlier taken over under sections related to the spread of communal conflict and provoking criminal planning by disrupting the peace and harmony.

A local activist from VHP, Vishva Hindu Parishad filed an FIR against Jha and Sakunia which has been registered in the Fatikroy police station of the Unakoti district. Apart from that numerous complaints were lodged against the journalists. Two other cases were registered against them in the police stations of Kakraban and Kumarghat. A woman named Kajal Das filed the FIR with the Kumarghat police station, mentioning that the duo is continuously disrupting the peace between two religious communities.

The accused journalists shared a video on social media displaying a half-burnt religious book 'Quran Sharif' but it was found to be fake after in-depth verification.

Earlier the journalists were asked to stay back in Tripura for interrogation about the matter with the police but the two didn't cooperate at that time and escaped from there as said by a higher official of Tripura police.

Both female journalists accused Tripura police through various tweets claiming to be arrogant and for high-handedness and were searching for legal aid. The tweets are later removed when the Tripura Police proved that the pictures and news shared by Samriddhi on social media are completely unreal and meaningless.

On the other hand, the Network of Women in Media India (NWMI) asked the Tripura Police to release the two journalists by dropping all the false cases against them and end the pressurizing of media by the police. The NWMI stands in unity with the two female journalists Samriddhi K Sakunia and Swarna Jha.

It may also be mentioned that the police invoked charges under Indian Penal Code sections 504, 204, 153A, 153B, 193, 120B, against the accused persons.

Also read: Cops Injured In Maharashtra As Protests Against Tripura Violence Turn Ugly

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