Protesting arrest of few youths for their alleged involvement in arsoning of minority populated area and burning down 16 houses in Ranirbazar area of West Tripura district after defacing of Hindu idols Goddess Kali and Lord Shiva, hundreds of villagers on Thursday staged a blockade on National Highway-8 connecting Assam and Agartala for around two hours, demanding the release of five people who were arrested.

The police said that several hundred people, including women belonging to the majority community, blocked National Highway-8, the lifeline of Tripura, at Ranirbazar in Jirania subdivision, in protest against the arrest of five persons.

After hours of blockade, senior police officers, including West Tripura District Superintendent of Police (SP)Kiran Kumar K and Transport and Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, who is the local MLA, rushed to the site of the protest.

After hectic negotiations, the agitators withdrew the blockade, leading to the normalizations of the movement of several hundred stranded vehicles on the vital National Highway.

The Minister requested the protesters to seek legal recourse to secure the release of the detained youths and also urged them to maintain peace and communal harmony.

The minister also assured the agitators that he will build a temple at Durganagar at the earliest.

“We have arrested five people in connection with the arson at Durganagar. The police will take action against those whose names would come up during the course of the investigation”, SP(West) Kiran Kumar said that .He said the national highway is now clear for vehicular movement.

The prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), was imposed on the entire Jirania subdivision on August 26 after violence in the area over idol defacing, and extended the prohibitory orders till August 31 with an official saying "there is still an apprehension of breach of peace and tranquility, danger to human life and property, obstruction and injury to persons under Jirania subdivision".

A large contingent of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and state police have been deployed at Koitorabari and other sensitive places of Jirania subdivision after the "unidentified attackers" set afire at least 16 houses, destroyed properties and burnt several vehicles late on August 25 night, leaving four persons injured in wake of the attacks.

Director General of Police (DGP), Intelligence, Anurag Dhankar, West Tripura District Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate Dr Vishal Kumar have several times visited the tension-struck areas and senior police officers are also camping in the area.

After the opposition Congress and CPI(M) accused the ruling BJP of exploiting communal tensions for political gains over the incident, BJP's Tripura unit General Secretary, Amit Rakshit, urged the opposition parties to refrain from politicizing such sensitive issues, especially when the state is grappling with the aftermath of a devastating flood that has affected a large section of the population.

It may be recalled here that after August 25 night violence, police on Wednesday (August 28) arrested five people in connection with the arson.