<p>Two Mumbai-based women journalists were detained in Assam and taken to neighbouring Tripura on Sunday for questioning following their news reports on communal tension that took place in North Tripura district on October 26. </p>.<p>A case was registered at Fatikroy police station in Unakoti district of Tripura following an FIR lodged by Kanchan Das, a Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activist on Saturday alleging that the duo tried to incite the Muslims against the Hindus during their visit to the communal tension-hit areas. Das also alleged that they tried to malign the image of Tripura and the BJP-led government in the state. </p>.<p>The two journalists, Samriddhi K Sakunia and Swarna Jha, working for <em>HW News Network</em>, a digital media platform based in Mumbai were booked under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 153-A (provocation with an intent to cause riot) and 504 (intentional insult) of IPC. </p>.<p>"The police arrived yesterday at the hotel around 10:30 at night and served the FIR copy in the morning 5:30am. We were supposed to leave for the capital Agartala but have not been allowed to move despite full cooperation. There are around 16-17 police deployed outside our hotel," Samriddhi tweeted on Sunday morning. </p>.<p>Tripura police issued another statement on Sunday evening stating that two were detained in connection with another case registered at Kakraban police station in Gomati district for "creation of hatred among communities" through her twitter posts. </p>.<p>The two journalists, aged 21 and 24 years, had visited the tension-hit areas and did a new story on how a mosque was set on fire allegedly by VHP workers on October 26 following protest against attacks on Hindus in neighbouring Bangladesh. The video news story was aired on <em>HW News</em> on Friday. Some shops belonging to Muslims were also burnt down on that day. </p>.<p>Tripura government and police, however, denied reports that a mosque was burnt and alleged that videos of such incidents outside Tripura were being shared on social media in order to "malign" the image of Tripura and the government. Deputy Chief Minister, Jishnu Dev Varma told reporters in Agartala on Saturday that a "vested interest group" was trying to reap political mileage by sharing "fake news" about the incident. </p>.<p>Dev Varma made the statement after some parts of Mumbai witnessed tension in a protest against the Tripura incident. </p>.<p>A statement issued by <em>HW News Network</em> on Sunday evening said the two journalists were first allowed to leave their hotel with a notice to record their statement within seven days. But they were detained when they were on their way to Silchar in South Assam's Cachar district. "This is a sheer harassment and targetting the press on the part of Tripura police and Tripura government to suppress us from reporting the facts of the case," said the statement sent to <em>DH</em>. </p>.<p>Police had earlier booked 102 persons including journalists, lawyers and activists under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for publishing or posting "distorted and objectionable" news items/statements regarding the incident. Police had also written to twitter and other social media organisations seeking information about accounts of 102 persons.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest DH videos:</strong></p>
<p>Two Mumbai-based women journalists were detained in Assam and taken to neighbouring Tripura on Sunday for questioning following their news reports on communal tension that took place in North Tripura district on October 26. </p>.<p>A case was registered at Fatikroy police station in Unakoti district of Tripura following an FIR lodged by Kanchan Das, a Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activist on Saturday alleging that the duo tried to incite the Muslims against the Hindus during their visit to the communal tension-hit areas. Das also alleged that they tried to malign the image of Tripura and the BJP-led government in the state. </p>.<p>The two journalists, Samriddhi K Sakunia and Swarna Jha, working for <em>HW News Network</em>, a digital media platform based in Mumbai were booked under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 153-A (provocation with an intent to cause riot) and 504 (intentional insult) of IPC. </p>.<p>"The police arrived yesterday at the hotel around 10:30 at night and served the FIR copy in the morning 5:30am. We were supposed to leave for the capital Agartala but have not been allowed to move despite full cooperation. There are around 16-17 police deployed outside our hotel," Samriddhi tweeted on Sunday morning. </p>.<p>Tripura police issued another statement on Sunday evening stating that two were detained in connection with another case registered at Kakraban police station in Gomati district for "creation of hatred among communities" through her twitter posts. </p>.<p>The two journalists, aged 21 and 24 years, had visited the tension-hit areas and did a new story on how a mosque was set on fire allegedly by VHP workers on October 26 following protest against attacks on Hindus in neighbouring Bangladesh. The video news story was aired on <em>HW News</em> on Friday. Some shops belonging to Muslims were also burnt down on that day. </p>.<p>Tripura government and police, however, denied reports that a mosque was burnt and alleged that videos of such incidents outside Tripura were being shared on social media in order to "malign" the image of Tripura and the government. Deputy Chief Minister, Jishnu Dev Varma told reporters in Agartala on Saturday that a "vested interest group" was trying to reap political mileage by sharing "fake news" about the incident. </p>.<p>Dev Varma made the statement after some parts of Mumbai witnessed tension in a protest against the Tripura incident. </p>.<p>A statement issued by <em>HW News Network</em> on Sunday evening said the two journalists were first allowed to leave their hotel with a notice to record their statement within seven days. But they were detained when they were on their way to Silchar in South Assam's Cachar district. "This is a sheer harassment and targetting the press on the part of Tripura police and Tripura government to suppress us from reporting the facts of the case," said the statement sent to <em>DH</em>. </p>.<p>Police had earlier booked 102 persons including journalists, lawyers and activists under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for publishing or posting "distorted and objectionable" news items/statements regarding the incident. Police had also written to twitter and other social media organisations seeking information about accounts of 102 persons.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest DH videos:</strong></p>
