AGARTALA, Nov 22 - The death toll in the yesterday�s clash between security forces and protesters at Panisagar in Tripura rose to two with a fire service employee, Biswajit Debbarma, succumbing to his injuries.
Debbarma passed away at the Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital (GBPMCH) here late last night.
A 45-year-old man identified as Srikanta Das was killed yesterday when police opened fire to disperse a violent mob.
An uneasy calm prevailed in Kanchanpur sub-division of North Tripura district today following the yesterday�s incident that also left at least 24 injured.
Assam Rifles and CRPF personnel have been deployed at several locations in Kanchanpur, which has become the epicentre of protests against resettlement of Bru refugees in the State.
Security has also been tightened along the Tripura-Mizoram border to thwart any further untoward incident.
Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb along with Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Verma will fly to Delhi tomorrow to meet BJP national president JP Nadda. They are likely to discuss the unrest related to Bru resettlement with Nadda, a source said.
Despite yesterday�s bloody clash on the National Highway at Panisagar, the indefinite strike called by the Joint Movement Committee against the proposed resettlement of over 8,000 Bru families continued today in Kanchanpur bordering Mizoram.
Markets and shops remained shut while vehicles stayed off the road due to the strike. The situation remained tense despite heavy deployment of paramilitary forces.
The indefinite strike will continue as the people want to vent their anger against the proposed resettlement of Bru refugees, said Sukanta Bikash Baruah, convener of the Joint Movement Committee.
�We condemn the barbaric attack on the supporters of the Joint Movement Committee at Panisagar yesterday. The magisterial inquiry ordered by the government is just an eyewash. We want either a CBI probe or a judicial inquiry into the attack on our members,� he said.
Baruah further said that Social Welfare Minister Santana Chakma and Bhagaban Das, BJP district president of Unakoti, recently held a meeting with the leaders of the Joint Movement Committee. �We made our stand on the proposed resettlement of Bru refugees in Kanchanpur clear to them. They said they will return to Kanchanpur today but that is yet to happen. We are waiting for a reply from the government on our demand,� he said.
According to reports, the Joint Movement Committee would continue its indefinite strike in Kanchanpur to thwart the government�s plan to resettle Bru refugees.
The Bru refugees sheltered in seven relief camps in two north Tripura sub-divisions had fled Mizoram 23 years ago following ethnic strife in the neighbouring State.
