Prashant Kishore' IPAC team under 'house arrest' in Tripura; TMC slams action

The district police chief, however, said it was a ‘routine process’

A 23-member team of IPAC, the poll strategy group which was headed by Prashant Kishore was allegedly put under "house arrest" in a hotel at Agartala in BJP-ruled Tripura by local police, inviting anger from Trinamool Congress.

Sources said the team had reached Agartala six days ago and was carrying out a "ground assessment" ahead of Assembly elections slated in 2023. The team was working for Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, which has set its eyes on Tripura after it retained power in Bengal.

"We are being kept in house arrest without any reason. And the police here is saying that they have orders from the top to not let us out of the hotel," one of the IPAC staff stuck in the hotel, Woodland Park told DH over phone on Monday.

Ashish Lal Singh, president of TMC's Tripura unit, said the IPAC team members were not being allowed to move out of the hotel citing some verification. "This is shameful. They have been put into house arrest. Why is BJP so scared of them?"

Police, however, in Agartala clarified that the team was not allowed to move out for their Covid-19 tests.

Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee took to Twitter to slam BJP, saying this action exposed the party's fear about TMC in Tripura.

"They are so rattled by our victory in Bengal that they have now kept 23 IPAC employees under house arrest. Democracy in this nation dies a thousand deaths under BJP's misrule," Banerjee further tweeted.

Several TMC members including Singh were arrested on July 21 during a protest for allegedly violating Covid-19 norms. Singh had earlier told DH that the BJP camp was worried as members of the ruling party were joining TMC almost every day since TMC's victory in Bengal.

He claimed several MLAs of BJP were in touch and are likely to join TMC soon.