12-hour Tripura bandh called by Left Front evoked thin response: Police

Agartala, Jul 14 (PTI) The 12-hour Tripura bandh called by the Left Front to protest the murder of a CPI(M) Zilla Parishad candidate was peaceful, evoking a "muted" response, police said on Sunday.

There was no report of violence or untoward incident across the state during the bandh period, they said.

"Normal life has not been impacted due to the 12-hour strike. There was no picketing or gathering in support of the bandh. Movement of vehicles and train services were usual, while shops and markets were also functioning normally,” Assistant Inspector General of Police (Law & Order) Ananta Das told PTI.

The Left parties had called the bandh to protest the recent murder of CPI(M) Zilla Parishad candidate Badal Shill in South Tripura district.

The CPI(M), however, claimed that people supported the bandh as they largely stayed off roads, markets and commercial establishments.

“There was pressure from the ruling BJP on the market committees to keep shops open to foil the strike,” said CPI(M) state secretariat member Pabitra Kar.

BJP state general secretary Amit Rakshit asserted that people rejected the statewide shutdown called by the Left parties.

“Life was normal in the entire state with vehicles plying on the streets and shops and markets functioning as usual,” he said.

BJP state spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharjee alleged that the CPI(M) was trying to "politicise" the death of its leader ahead of the panchayat elections in Tripura. PTI PS RBT