rtala, June 17:
A five-member delegation of the Tripura Pradesh Youth Congress on Wednesday approached the Tripura Human Rights Commission (THRC), alleging unprovoked use of force by a CRPF officer during a protest in Agartala earlier this week and seeking an independent inquiry into the incident.
The delegation, led by Tripura Pradesh Youth Congress president Neel Kamal Saha, submitted a formal complaint before the Commission against an Assistant Commandant of the CRPF’s 140th Battalion, alleging that he verbally abused protesters including female and ordered a baton charge without authorization during a protest march held on June 15 in which several were injured.
The protest, organized by the Youth Congress, was aimed at demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET 2026 question paper leak. The demonstration turned tense after security personnel used water cannons and later resorted to baton charge, leaving several protesters injured.
Addressing reporters after submitting the complaint, Saha alleged that the baton charge was carried out without orders from senior state police officers present at the scene.
He claimed that several Youth Congress activists sustained injuries, some of them serious, and described the action as a violation of the protesters’ constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully.
“We had obtained permission for the protest. No one has the right to suppress a democratic movement through force,” Saha said, adding that the Commission had accepted the complaint and sought video footage and photographs related to the incident.
According to Saha, the Youth Congress would submit all available video clips and images, including those circulating on social media, to assist the inquiry.
The move comes a day after senior Congress leaders, including Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Asish Kumar Saha and Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman, met senior CRPF officials and lodged a separate complaint with the Inspector General (IG) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the force, demanding action against the officer concerned.
Earlier a police complaint has also been lodged.
The controversy gained further traction after videos purportedly showing the CRPF officer confronting protesters went viral on social media.
Meanwhile, the DYFI state committee, the youth wing of the CPI(M), also expressed concern over the incident and condemned the alleged use of excessive force against demonstrators. The organization viewed it as an attempt to silence democratic movement against the ruling and called for a fair inquiry and accountability if any violation of established procedures is found.
The Tripura Human Rights Commission is expected to examine the complaint and the supporting evidence before deciding on further action.
