Tripura CM son brandishes 7.62 mm LMG during Puja, pic goes viral

Agartala: The Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) on Thursday lashed out at the ruling BJP-IPFT government after a picture of the Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb’s son holding a 7.62 mm Light Machine Gun (LMG) went viral on the internet.

Speaking at a press conference, senior Congress leader Subal Bhowmik said that the son of the chief minister is seen holding a gun and the picture is doing rounds over the internet.

“At the time when the During Puja is being celebrated across the state, the son of chief minister was seen roaming around here and there with a gun. This could have been dangerous for the people. From where did he get the gun? Does he even have a licence for the gun,” Bhowmik questioned.

“We are yet to be confirmed from where he had got the gun. Even as 24 hours have passed, the police have not yet started an investigation over this matter or being a son of the chief minister gives him a special power to do anything he likes,” Bhowmik said.

When the general people and Opposition supporters upload or share anything against the state government or the chief minister, he or she is immediately arrested and harassed by the police in the name of a defamation suit, Bhowmik added.

“We demand an investigation by a central investigation agency over the issue and a clarification,” Bhowmik asserted.

Speaking on the issue the AIG (Law and Order), Tripura Police, Subrata Chakraborty, said, as per norms of the home department, no civilians are allowed to hold on a service weapon as they are not trained to do so.

However, it is a matter of concern, as in what situation the son of the chief minister had handled the rifle. Maybe it was done under the supervision of the concerned Battalion officers, he added.

Reacting over the press conference of Congress leader, BJP state spokesperson, Nabendu Bhattacharjee, said that the Congress leaders have lost their identity and now, they have started personal attacks.

“Had there been any issue or complaint with the chief minister’s son holding a weapon in a Tripura State Rifles (TSR) Battalion they could have simply bought the issue in the knowledge of the concerned department, rather than making it a public issue,” Bhattacharjee said.

The son of the Tripura chief minister is a 17-year-old and a student of Class XI in Agartala and he was on his visit to one of the TSR with his mother when he had clicked the picture holding an LMG.