The Tripura High Court has rejected a plea seeking quashing of FIRs against senior CPI-M leader and former state minister Bhanulal Saha.
FIRs were filed against Saha over his social media posts that allegedly asked youths of Tripura to take up ‘weapons’.
The former Tripura minister had allegedly asked youth of the state to pick up sticks, machetes and iron rods for “self-defence” against alleged political attacks.
Saha in a Facebook post in May said: “Keep sticks, da, iron pipes etc… irrespective of women-men-teens-aged, in every house for mass resistance for their bricks, kicks, petrol bombs… It’s not a crime to pick up things for self-defence… Resist ruling party goons with courage.”
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Notably, Saha had served as a finance minister in the previous Manik Sarkar-led Left government in Tripura.
The Tripura High Court order read: “…quashing of FIR on the ground that the statement made is ‘stand-alone’ cannot be accepted since the posting on Facebook during the above period made by the persons from the said political party, needs a serious examination.”