By Mahmodul Hassan
On October 22, Rayhan (name changed) got a distress call from Panisagar town in North Tripura. “I was told a part of a mosque was burnt down.” Speaking to News9, Rayhan described the destruction caused to the religious structure. “The old boxes with papers and documents had been burnt. The tent cover used to cover the ceiling was also burnt. The fans were broken, walls were broken, a part of the torja ber (wall made of bamboo) was burnt down and it was broken. There was an extra room which was completely destroyed by the fire. This happened on the night of October 21,” he said.
This incident, according to eyewitnesses who spoke to News9 on condition of anonymity, happened a week before the Chamtila Jame Masjid was vandalised, along with other homes and shops in Rowa Bazar and Chamtila area.
In the last several days, Tripura reportedly witnessed at least 10 incidents of violences — clashes between the police and members from Hindu groups, acts of violence against the minority communities where mob vandalised mosque, homes and burnt shops. Till 26 October, different districts of Tripura witnessed several protest rallies against the anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh. Many of these rallies resulted in creating unrest in different districts of Tripura. The Tripura Police, while maintaining that the law and order situation in the state is “absolutely normal”, also has said that it “is investigating these cases in a complete impartial and lawful manner.” Currently, security has been beefed up in Tripura.
“Some posts in social media projecting doubts on the impartiality of Tripura police in taking action against the perpetrators of recent communal incidents have been noticed. It is reiterated that Tripura Police is investigating these cases in a complete impartial and lawful manner,” it said.
Mosque, built by CRPF, burnt down
On the morning of October 22, when Muslims reached the Panisagar Town Jame Masjid in Panisagar town, to offer their Friday prayers, they found a burnt down and vandalised mosque, instead. News9spoke to several eyewitnesses who claimed that they saw the scene of destruction on the morning of October 22. The majority of them spoke on the condition of anonymity citing that they may face threats if their names are revealed.
The only mosque in the town, the Panisagar Jame Masjid, was built by the CRPF jawans in 1982. (Photo procured by Mahmodul Hassan) “I got an emergency call from a person who lives near the Panisagar Town Jame Masjid on the morning of October 22. He told me to hurry as something had happened to the mosque.” Rayhan immediately rushed to the area and saw that there was no mosque anymore. “A part of it was burnt down and the rest of it was broken and vandalised.”
The only mosque in Panisagar town, the Panisagar Jame Masjid, was built by the CRPF jawans in 1982. “Two religious structures — the Panisagar Jame Masjid and the Debasthan temple — both were built by CRPF jawans in 1982. It had become the symbol of religious harmony in the area. And it was not just a symbol, the region has had no communal tension till now,” said Zaheer (name changed) who lives in the Panisagar sub-division. According to the residents of the area, CRPF jawans, of both faiths, performed their prayers in these two places.
The burning of the mosque in the middle of the night has jolted the local community. “The local people who informed us about the incident told us strictly to keep their identities hidden. They said that they did not come out of their homes out of fear,” Zaheer said.
According to Zaheer, the mosque is in a Hindu majority area but both the communities have cordial relations. “I don’t believe that anyone from the locality was involved in the incident, rather unknown miscreants from outside might have been involved in burning down and vandalising the mosque,” he added. Citing the recent communal violence in Tripura, he said, “Situation is very tense. People do not want their names to be in public.”
Nothing happened, says Panisagar Police
The mosque near RCPE college is the only mosque in Panisagar town. The mosque and the nearby Debasthan temple, both were established by CRPF jawans in 1982. CRPF jawans of both the faiths used to perform their prayers in these two places of worship.
“In 2002-2003, when the CRPF jawans left the nearby camp, they handed over the mosque to the Muslims in the area and the temple to the Hindus,” said Zaheer. People of both faiths have been performing their prayers and have maintained peace and harmony in the area.
In January 2021, the Office of Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Panisagar issued a notice for an urgent meeting to discuss the “relocation and removal” of the mosque and the temple. The meeting was called by the SDM Office in connection with “relocation/removal of unauthorised religious structure erected on government Khas land/Public premises and solution of the related issues.” The president or secretary of the mosque and the temple near RCPE college were called for the meeting.
In their reply, the managing committee of the mosque said that the mosque and temple were constructed by CRPF jawans and that the establishment of both the “shrines have been carrying out the unity of diversity principles” in the area. In the response, they noted that at the time of their departure, the Muslim CRPF jawans had handed over the mosque to the locals and Hindu jawans dedicated the temple to the local Hindu community.
“Both the communities have been performing religious activities and maintaining absolute peace and tranquillity for the last 38-39 years where our religious, faith, belief, emotion, and long practised tradition have been erected/established beyond questions… That legally we have acquired rights by Adverse Possession as per provision of the Indian Limitation Act 1963.” the reply read.
Locals said that no new decision was taken after they submitted the response.
Given that the Muslim population in the area is thin, Zaheer said that the only visitors to the mosque were out-of-towners who stopped here to offer prayers, especially on Fridays. The burning of the mosque has left everyone in the area sad and shocked. Zaheer said that many have been performing namaz here for the last 40 years.
“The masjid is half-walled, the rest of the portion is covered with bamboo partition. The CRPF had given us the covers that they use in tents, we used that to cover the ceiling. All this was burnt down. A prayer mat and Quran were also burnt. We had an extra room too, everything inside that room was burnt down,” said Shabaz (name changed), another local who has been a frequent visitor to the mosque for many years now.
Shabaz and others went to the Panisagar police station on October 23 to file an FIR. However, they said that they have not received any receipt of the FIR yet.
“On October 23, I, along with the others, went to the mosque and then we went to the Panisagar Police Station to file an FIR. Police read the FIR and told us to come on Monday. On Monday, the secretary and president went to the police station but the cops did not give them any FIR receipt,” said Shabaz.
One of the members of the managing committee, Mosif (name changed), who was also present at the mosque on October 22, said, “We went to the Panisagar police station to file an FIR, and also asked for a receipt as the mosque is a national treasure. Police told us that they can give the receipt to us after visiting the spot. When we returned to the police station on Monday, the police did not give us a receipt, instead chided us and said that the area has become an adda.”
The locals also filed a complaint with the SDM office regarding the loss of property. “We didn’t get the receipt of the FIR we filed in the police station. But we got a receipt for the complaint that we filed at the SDM office. The one complaint with SDM was for informing about the loss of property. We informed them about the mosque being burnt down and requested to investigate the matter. The receipt from the SDM office was given on the basis that they saw the paper we have submitted,” Mosif added.
News9 contacted Panisagar Police Station asking them about the FIR, Sougat Chakma, the Officer-in-Charge, said, “I am not aware of exactly what happened in the town.” When asked precisely if he was aware of the incident on the night of October 21, Sougat said, “No, nothing happened on October 21.”
This story first appeared on news9live.com