Journalist taped violence, CPM says he was our own

2 IPFT men held for murder of Bhowmik (Shantanu Bhowmik. Source: Facebook)

On Wednesday afternoon, Shantanu Bhowmik, 29, had already left Mandai, after covering a clash between Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) supporters and the police, when he received information that the protesters had turned violent again. So Bhowmik, a journalist with local television news channel Din-Raat, went back to Mandai, about 35 km from Agartala. He was taking videos of the violence on his cellphone, when he was attacked by a mob with sticks and rods. His body was later recovered from behind the Mandai stadium.

“While the police were trying to tackle the protesters, Bhowmik was caught by the mob at a spot where there were no policemen. He was detained by the mob and beaten to death,” said Abhijit Saptarshi, Superintendent of Police, Tripura West district.

Tripura CPI(M) spokesman Gautam Das alleged that Bhowmik may have been attacked because of his Left background. “Though he was a member of the CPI(M), he was a full-time journalist. I suspect that the IPFT targeted him because of this,” said Das.

But SP Saptarshi said Bhowmik may have been targeted because he had footage of IPFT supporters attacking the police and damaging vehicles. “Bhowmik had taken visuals of IPFT members indulging in violence. We have arrested two persons, both IPFT members, in connection with the incident. Another person who is currently undergoing treatment in a hospital will also be arrested. We are leaving no stone unturned to identify the culprits,” he said.

“Some people said Bhowmik tried to explain to the mob that he was a journalist. They snatched his cellphone and identity card,” said Manoranjan Das, secretary of the Jirania CPI(M) committee.

In Jirania, about three-four kilometres from Mandai, where Bhowmik’s house is just seven houses away from the local police station, Rajib Saha, his schoolfriend, recalled that he was with the SFI during his college days. “He was SFI secretary from 2007 to 2010, and was a DYFI member till date. But after taking up journalism, he was not active in the party,” said Saha.

Bhowmik’s body, kept in the verandah of his house, was covered with a CPI(M) flag and a DYFI flag. His mother Papori Nag, a Class III employee at the Autonomous District Council office in Khumulwng, said the culprits should be given exemplary punishment. “I have nothing else to ask for. I have lost my only son. What do I ask for now,” she said on Thursday afternoon, as she waited for her daughter Pinaki, a BSc (Horticulture) student in Gangtok, to arrive for the last rites.

Her husband, Sadhan Bhowmik, lives separately in Khowai. “He came in the morning to see his son’s body, but left after an hour or so,” said Debnath, the Jirania Nagar Panchayat chairperson.

Bhowmik, who completed his graduation from the MBB College here, joined the now defunct Khabar-365 channel owned by Rose Valley in 2012. “Three years ago, he shifted to TV24. He has been with Din-Raat ever since the channel was launched on April 14 this year,” said Samir Dhar, editor-in-chief, Din-Raat. “He was a sincere and courageous reporter,” he added.

The channel is owned by a group called Channel Din-Raat Society. State CPI(M) spokesman Das said the owners are “progressive people”, adding that they are “not members of our party”.