Tripura Oposition Walks out on Custodial Death Issue

Agartala, January 21, 2019:

The opposition CPI-M on Monday walked out from the second half of the sixth session of 12th Tripura Legislative Assembly, protesting against the alleged "suppression" of their voices by the Deputy Speaker.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who also holds the portfolio of Home Department, in reply to a calling-attention notice brought by CPI-M MLAs Ratan Bhowmick and Nirmal Biswas, gave a statement that a 39-year old man committed suicide at West Agartala police station on January 12 last.

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"Parimal Ghosh, the father of the deceased Sushanta Ghosh (39) in a written application stated that his son was murdered inside a police lock-up and the state government ordered a magisterial inquiry”, Deb said.

After the statement of the Chief Minister, as soon as MLA Ratan Bhowmick was about to ask for his "clarification", ruling BJP MLA and former Minister Sudip Roy Barman said that as the magisterial inquiry is under process, the matter should not be discussed on the floor of the house.

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Following the statement of Roy Barman, the Deputy Speaker Biswabandhu Sen said the matter cannot be discussed anymore because magisterial inquiry is under process and he started his next business for the house.

Subsequently, the leader of the opposition, Manik Sarkar, expressing his anger, said, "the Deputy Speaker could tell us that the matter would not be discussed in the house and there was no necessity to give statement on the subject."

The opposition then walked out of the house for the whole day. Later, addressing a news conference, Sarkar said, “We have asked to the Chief Minister for his statement on the matter of custodial death, but the deputy speaker Biswabandhu Sen moved into the next business completely ignoring our request."

"They forcibly silenced our voice in the assembly. The ruling party forcibly gagged the freedom of expression of the oppositions and all the people. We cannot tolerate it”, Sarkar said that before the completion of the inquiry, the chief minister stated that it was a case of suicide.

“We have a doubt on it. When Sushanta Ghosh was murdered we visited his home and his sister told me that Ghosh told his sister that police would not let him live”, Sarkar said.

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