Agartala, June 20 (Agency)
Sudip Roy Burman, Congress candidate for the by-elections to be held in Agartala assembly constituency, was attacked with bricks by some miscreants in Ujan Abhaynagar of Tripura. The police gave this information on Monday. A party leader said former minister and five-time MLA Roy Burman has been admitted to the hospital and is out of danger. According to a police officer, the incident took place late on Sunday night, when Roy Burman had gone to meet Congress worker Alok Goswami, whose house was attacked by a group of youths. Uttam Paul, the officer-in-charge of Abhayanagar outpost, said, “These youths had gathered outside the house of Goswami, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker who had recently joined the Congress.” According to Paul, a scuffle broke out between the group of youths and their personal security guards after Roy Burman reached Goswami’s residence. “Before we reached the spot, the former MLA was attacked with bricks and fell on the ground. A police officer has also suffered injuries in the incident.
Shikha Deb, a leader of Mahila Congress, said that Roy Burman’s nose bone was fractured due to the injury from the bricks. He left the BJP and joined the Congress earlier this year. Paul said, “We have not received any written complaint so far regarding the incident related to the former MLA.” Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee President Birjit Sinha condemned the attack on Roy Burman, alleging that he was trying to campaign for the by-polls. The situation has worsened after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s visit to the state on Sunday. He said, “I appeal to the voters to give a befitting reply to the BJP-sponsored ‘Gundaraj’ by voting in the by-elections to be held on June 23.”
Meanwhile, the BJP (Agartala Mandal) has filed a police complaint alleging that a group of Congress supporters damaged material containing its flag and party’s election symbol in Ujan Abhaynagar on Sunday night. Bypolls to the four assembly seats in Agartala are to be held on June 23. Counting of votes will be done on June 26.
