In late October 2021, rallies in Tripura against attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh were followed by attacks on mosques, shops and homes of Muslims, most visibly during a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) rally in Panisagar, North Tripura, on 26 October. Police and the Union Home Ministry called reports of burnt mosques fake, and police booked lawyers, journalists and 102 social media accounts, including under the anti-terror UAPA. The Supreme Court shielded several of them from arrest, and the Tripura High Court opened a suo motu case.
Key takeaways
- On 26 October a VHP rally of about 3,500 people in Panisagar, North Tripura, was followed by a mosque being ransacked at Chamtilla and shops burnt and houses damaged at Rowa Bazar, according to local police officers.
- A lawyers' fact-finding team said 12 mosques, 9 shops and 3 houses of Muslims were targeted across the state. The Union Home Ministry said no mosque structure in Tripura had been damaged.
- Whether mosques were burnt is contested. Police FIRs record fires at a mosque in Kakraban on 20 October and at one in Panisagar on the night of 21 to 22 October; police later called one a "prayer hall" and the other abandoned.
- Tripura police booked two fact-finding lawyers, journalist Shyam Meera Singh and 102 social media accounts, including under Section 13 of the UAPA. The Supreme Court ordered no coercive steps against several of them.
Background: the Bangladesh trigger
On 13 October 2021, during Durga Puja, allegations spread on social media that a copy of the Quran had been desecrated at a puja pandal in Cumilla, Bangladesh. Attacks on Hindu homes, temples and pandals followed across the country. Amnesty International said at least seven people were killed and hundreds injured, and that at least 25 Hindu houses and shops were torched in Rangpur on 17 October Amnesty International. Al Jazeera put the toll at six, including two Hindu men Al Jazeera.
Tripura shares an 856 km border with Bangladesh, and Muslims are about nine percent of its population Al Jazeera. BOOM reported that footage of the Bangladesh attacks circulated widely in Tripura alongside false and misleading messages, and that the VHP and Hindu Jagran Manch then held several rallies in the state BOOM.
Timeline
Fire at Dargah Bazar mosque, Kakraban
Kakraban police registered case 74/2021 under IPC Section 436 (mischief by fire) Tripura High Court order. The FIR, seen by Newslaundry, says part of the "masjid" was gutted and the complainant did not know who set the fire Newslaundry.
Fire at a mosque in Panisagar
A mosque near the Regional College of Physical Education in Panisagar was burnt, according to an FIR lodged on 11 November and seen by Newslaundry Newslaundry. A police officer told Al Jazeera there had been no complaint and no call to the fire service at the time Al Jazeera.
Attempted arson in Sipahijala
Residents of Naraura village told Al Jazeera that attackers poured kerosene into a small mosque and set items in its courtyard alight before villagers drove them off Al Jazeera.
VHP rally in Panisagar
The state told the High Court about 3,500 people joined the rally through Panisagar and Rowa High Court order. Panisagar SDPO Soubhik Dey said a section of VHP activists "ransacked a mosque in the Chamtilla area", and that three houses and three shops were ransacked and two shops set on fire at Rowa Bazar BOOM, citing Indian Express.
Prohibitory orders
Section 144 CrPC orders were imposed in Panisagar and Dharmanagar subdivisions "for an indefinite period", and police guarded all mosques in North Tripura, SP Bhanupada Chakraborty said TNM/PTI. Tripura police tweeted that no mosque was burnt during the rally EastMojo.
High Court steps in
The Tripura High Court registered a suo motu public interest case High Court order. The same day, a Kali temple with thatched walls was vandalised at Kailashahar, and an ABVP leader was stabbed; Section 144 was extended to Kailashahar BOOM.
What was damaged: who reported what
No single official count was published, and the figures below do not match.
- State government to the High Court: an FIR from the 26 October rally alleged the burning of 3 shops and damage to 3 houses belonging to Muslims, plus damage to a mosque. A counter-FIR by the other side alleged the rally was abused, threatened and attacked. The state called them "counter cases" High Court order, 29 Oct 2021.
- North Tripura police: a group threw stones and damaged a door of the Chamtilla mosque, and three houses and a few shops were ransacked at Rowa Bazar TNM/PTI.
- Lawyers' fact-finding team: Claim · Fact-finding team its report, "Humanity Under Attack in Tripura", said 12 mosques, 9 shops and 3 homes of Muslims were attacked LiveLaw Scroll.
- Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind faction in Tripura: Claim · Mufti Abdul Momin "There are 16 mosques which have been targeted" Al Jazeera.
- Union Home Ministry: Government's position "there is no reported case of damage of the structure of any mosque in Tripura in the recent past", and no reported injury, rape or death in such incidents Tribune/PTI.
The disputed claim of a burnt mosque
Police position On 27 October Tripura police tweeted that "no masjid (mosque) was burnt" during the Panisagar rally and that pictures of a burning or damaged mosque were "fake news" EastMojo/PTI. On 28 October police posted photos of a mosque in Panisagar, saying it was "safe and secure" Alt News.
Some circulating images were indeed false. BOOM found that at least four viral photos were old or from elsewhere, including a 2019 Agartala clash and a June 2021 fire at a Rohingya camp in Delhi, while two were genuine images of the recent violence BOOM.
Contested Alt News said the photos police posted showed Rowa Jame Masjid, while a different mosque, built by CRPF personnel in 1982 near the RCPE college, more than 3 km away, was vandalised and partly burnt Alt News. DGP V.S. Yadav told Alt News that this structure "hasn't been functioning for more than a decade". A local committee member said Friday prayers were still held there. Newslaundry noted that the police statements referred to the 26 October rally, while this fire happened five days earlier Newslaundry.
The MHA specifically denied that the Dargah Bazar mosque in Kakraban had been damaged Tribune/PTI. The FIR in that case calls it a "masjid", but after 13 November police described it as a "half-burned prayer hall". A senior officer said the FIR reflected the complainant's words, not a police finding Newslaundry.
Both accounts
Residents', Muslim groups' and fact-finders' account
A resident of Chamtilla told Al Jazeera that 30 to 40 people from the rally broke away and vandalised the mosque, and a Rowa shopkeeper said about half a dozen shops were burnt Al Jazeera. The lawyers' team said the violence came from the "irresponsibility of the administration, along with extremist organisations and the vested interests of ambitious politicians" Scroll. CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury accused the BJP of trying "to polarise the state", and a local Trinamool Congress leader called it "local politics at play" Al Jazeera.
VHP, police and government account
Local VHP leader Bijit Roy blamed "some miscreants" at the rally and alleged provocative slogans were broadcast from a mosque loudspeaker first. An unnamed Panisagar police official disagreed, saying "there was no provocation from the other side" and that the VHP broke the conditions of its permission Al Jazeera. DGP Yadav called them "minor incidents" Al Jazeera and said miscreants wanted to "malign the image of the government" TNM/PTI. A BJP spokesperson blamed the Left's "IT cell" for fake posts Al Jazeera.
Government's position On 29 October the Biplab Kumar Deb government alleged that "a group from outside with vested interests" had conspired to malign the state by uploading fake photos of a burning mosque Tribune/PTI. It also promised compensation to those whose property was damaged Al Jazeera.
Arrests over the violence
By 5 November a Panisagar police official said four residents had been arrested over the rally violence, and police said six people had been arrested in "communal incident cases" and four for spreading "malicious propaganda" Al Jazeera. On 29 October the state told the High Court that two people had been detained across five earlier cases High Court order. In the Kakraban mosque fire, the subdivisional police officer said in mid-November that no one had yet been arrested Newslaundry.
UAPA cases against lawyers, journalists and 102 accounts
On 3 November West Agartala police registered a case under IPC Sections 153A, 153B, 469, 504 and 120B and Section 13 of the UAPA against the fact-finding lawyers Ehtesham Hashmi, Amit Srivastav, Ansar Indori and Mukesh Kumar, asking them to delete posts and appear by 10 November Tribune/PTI. On 6 November police booked 102 account holders and asked Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to freeze the accounts, saying posts used "photographs/videos of some other incidents" and had "potential to flare up communal tension" Tribune/PTI.
Journalist Shyam Meera Singh said he was booked for tweeting "Tripura is burning" Scroll. The Editors Guild of India said the stringent law was being used to suppress reporting on communal violence Tribune. The Indian Express reported that 24 profiles were taken down and 57 tweets removed The Quint, citing Indian Express.
On 27 November Chief Minister Deb directed the DGP to review the UAPA cases. A Home Department official said the cases were filed "to maintain peace and communal harmony" after "fake photos and videos of burning mosques" circulated Madhyamam. This page found no published outcome of that review.
The two women journalists
Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha of HW News Network were named in an FIR at Fatikroy police station on a complaint by a VHP supporter, detained in Assam on 14 November, and bailed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Gomati district on 15 November Onmanorama/PTI. Police said Sakunia's post about the Kakraban fire, including a claim that a Quran was burnt, was contrary to their investigation PTI via Swarajya.
Government's position State minister Sushanta Chowdhury alleged the two came "as agents of a political party", without naming one, and blamed their posts for the Amravati protests PTI via Swarajya Scroll. The journalists told the Supreme Court they were harassed in interrogation; on 8 December 2021 it stayed proceedings in both FIRs against them, HW News and an associate editor The Leaflet Newslaundry.
What the courts did
Tripura High Court. In its 29 October order, the bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice S. Talapatra said its "sole concern" was protecting life, liberty and property, sought affidavits on investigations and arrests by 10 November, urged peace committees down to panchayat level, and directed action against social media carrying "false, fictitious and or fabricated" content High Court order LiveLaw.
Supreme Court. On 17 November 2021 it ordered no coercive steps against Mukesh, Ansar Indori and Shyam Meera Singh, whose petition also challenged UAPA Sections 2(1)(o), 13 and 43D(5) The Leaflet. On 10 January 2022 it stopped police acting on a notice to Twitter about another user's tweet PTI via Morung Express. On 7 February 2022 it said police must respect its no-coercive-action orders SC Observer. On 25 February 2022 it sent Hashmi's plea for an SIT probe to the High Court's suo motu case, with protection from coercive steps LiveLaw.
Outcome
- Prohibitory orders: Section 144 in Panisagar and Dharmanagar from 27 October, later extended to Kailashahar.
- Arrests for the violence: by 5 November, four over the Panisagar rally per a police official, and six in "communal incident cases" per police (the figures may overlap).
- UAPA: four lawyers, a journalist and 102 accounts booked; Supreme Court protection for those who petitioned.
- Journalists: Sakunia and Jha bailed on 15 November 2021; proceedings stayed on 8 December 2021.
- Politics: Biplab Deb resigned as chief minister on 14 May 2022 and Manik Saha replaced him Tribune.
Where things stand
On 15 February 2024 Mukesh, Indori and Singh withdrew their Supreme Court petition to approach the High Court, saying they now felt more confident of a fair hearing there SC Observer. As of October 2026, this page found no published report of a final order in the High Court's suo motu case, of chargesheets or trials over the mosque and shop attacks, or of a final ruling on the UAPA FIRs or the HW News cases.
Questions people ask
What happened in Tripura in October 2021?
After attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh during Durga Puja, the VHP and other groups held rallies in Tripura. Mosques, shops and homes of Muslims were attacked in several places, most visibly during a VHP rally in Panisagar on 26 October.
Was a mosque burnt in Tripura?
It is disputed. Police and the Home Ministry said no mosque was burnt. Police FIRs record fires at a mosque in Kakraban on 20 October and one in Panisagar on 21 to 22 October; police later called one a prayer hall and the other abandoned.
Why were 102 people booked under UAPA in Tripura?
Police said their posts used images from other incidents and could inflame communal tension. Critics, including the Editors Guild of India, said the law was being used to suppress reporting.
Who were the journalists arrested over Tripura violence?
Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha of HW News. They were detained in Assam on 14 November 2021, arrested and bailed on 15 November. The Supreme Court stayed proceedings against them on 8 December 2021.
How is the Tripura violence linked to Amravati?
On 12 November 2021 rallies in Maharashtra protesting the Tripura incidents turned violent in Amravati and other towns. The MHA's statement calling the mosque reports fake came the next day.
Sources
- Amnesty International: Bangladesh: Protection of Hindus and others must be ensured amid ongoing violence, 18 Oct 2021
- Al Jazeera: Muslims in India's Tripura remain in fear after mosques targeted, 5 Nov 2021
- BOOM: Explainer on communal tension in Tripura, 1 Nov 2021
- BOOM: Unrelated old images falsely viral as recent violence in North Tripura, 29 Oct 2021
- The News Minute/PTI: Section 144 imposed in North Tripura district after mosques, shops vandalised, 28 Oct 2021
- EastMojo/PTI: Tripura police now say no mosque burnt by VHP supporters, 28 Oct 2021
- Tripura High Court: Order in WP(C)(PIL) No. 22 of 2021, Court on own motion, 29 Oct 2021
- LiveLaw: Tripura High Court takes suo motu cognizance, 30 Oct 2021
- Newslaundry: A mosque was torched in Tripura, but cops say just a 'prayer hall', 18 Nov 2021
- Alt News: Tripura police claims no mosque was torched in Panisagar but ground reality differs, 13 Nov 2021
- Tribune/PTI: No mosque damaged, no rape, death in Tripura; fake news circulating on social media: MHA, 14 Nov 2021
- Tribune/PTI: Tripura police serve notices on 102 persons under UAPA, 7 Nov 2021
- Tribune: SC agrees to early hearing of plea for quashing of UAPA FIR, 12 Nov 2021
- Scroll: SC agrees to hear plea challenging UAPA charges against journalists, lawyers, 11 Nov 2021
- LiveLaw: Supreme Court restrains Tripura police from coercive steps against 2 lawyers and 1 journalist, 17 Nov 2021
- The Leaflet: SC directs state to avoid coercive action against accused, 17 Nov 2021
- The Quint: Tripura police UAPA case: 24 online profiles taken down, 57 tweets removed, 18 Nov 2021
- Madhyamam: Tripura CM instructs police to review UAPA cases against journalists, 27 Nov 2021
- Onmanorama/PTI: Journalists detained in Assam granted bail, 15 Nov 2021
- PTI via Swarajya: Tripura minister on arrested journalists, 16 Nov 2021
- Scroll: Arrested journalists are agents of a political party, alleges state minister, 16 Nov 2021
- The Leaflet: SC stays FIRs filed by Tripura police against HW News Network and its journalists, 8 Dec 2021
- Newslaundry: SC stays probe against HW News journalists, 8 Dec 2021
- PTI via Morung Express: SC restrains Tripura cops from acting on notice to Twitter, 10 Jan 2022
- Supreme Court Observer: Day 1 oral hearing, Tripura UAPA charges, 7 Feb 2022
- LiveLaw: Supreme Court asks lawyer to approach High Court for SIT probe, 25 Feb 2022
- Tribune: Manik Saha appointed Tripura chief minister after Biplab Deb resigns, 14 May 2022
- Supreme Court Observer: Petitioners withdraw case, seek to approach the High Court, 15 Feb 2024