Hawkers, labourers fleeing Tripura following Mohanpur lynching incident: Oppn

The Congress and the CPI(M) today alleged that hawkers and construction labourers belonging to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are scared and fleeing Tripura after a hawker from UP was lynched here last week.

These workers are facing livelihood problems as they cannot go out of their houses due to fear of being branded as child-lifters, Congress spokesperson and vice-president Tapas Dey said.

"We appeal to all people to help erase the fear psychosis, otherwise the hawkers and labourers from other states would face serious problems," CPI(M) state committee member Pabitra Kar said.

Last week, a hawker from Uttar Pradesh was lynched and two others injured after a mob in Tripura attacked them on suspicion of being child-lifters.

When contacted, west Tripura Superintendent of Police Ajit Pratap Singh said he would look into the allegations.

"I have not come across any such incident. However, when you have pointed it out, I will inquire it," he said.

The Congress vice-president claimed that a woman hawker came to his house yesterday with her Aadhaar card hanging from her neck to show her identity and prove that she is not a child-lifter.

"She told me that the hawkers and construction labourers, who came from UP, Bihar and West Bengal are scared and many of them fled the state," Dey told PTI.

Kar claimed that hawkers and construction labourers living at Dhaleawar, Kalikapur and Bhati Abhoynagar on the outskirts of Agartala are too scared to venture outside their houses.

"Many of them have fled and those stayed behind are confined to their rooms and are nearly starving," Kar told PTI.