Kailashahar, Jun 10, 2024, TRIPURATIMES Desk

Kailashahar, June 10: In the wake of vandalism of former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi’s bust in Kailashahar, the Unakoti District Congress Committee organized a protest on Monday and gheraoed the local police station.

The protest was led by Congress MLA Birajit Sinha. Kailashahar district Congress president Md. Badruzzaman, Pradesh Congress general secretary Rudrendu Bhattacharya, and Congress leaders- Runu Miah, Nar Singh Das, Chandra Shekhar Sinha, Ratan Dutta, among others also joined the agitation.

The Congress activists first held a protest march commencing from the local party office, traversing through various roads of the town before staging a demonstration in front of Kailashahar police station. During the hour-long protest, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the police station requested for a discussion with a five-member delegation from the Congress, led by district president Md. Badruzzaman.

The police assured that they would make every effort to apprehend those responsible for the vandalism of Rajiv Gandhi's statue. However, the Congress party warned the police that if the culprits are not arrested soon, they will launch a widespread agitation across Kailashahar.

After the protest, Sinha addressed the media in front of the Kailashahar police station and strongly condemned the series of incidents, including the vandalism of the CPI(M) Chandipur local committee office in Srirampur on the night of June 4, the bust of the late poet Himadri Nandan Deb in Kazirgaon on the night of June 5, and the bust of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Gobindapur on the night of June 8.

Sinha accused the local ruling party leaders of being involved in these incidents, describing them as "cowards". He warned that if the real perpetrators are not arrested soon, the peace in Kailashahar would be disrupted, and the police would be held responsible.

He also recalled that in a similar incident, the statue of the late Deputy Chief Minister Baidyanath Majumder was vandalized at Srirampur after BJP came to power in 2018. He reiterated that all these incidents occurred under the cover of night, labelling those responsible as cowards for their despicable acts.