Tripura High Court directs Government of India to constitute committee on displaced Reangs

AGARTALA: The Tripura High Court has asked the Government of India to constitute a committee to investigate the actual condition of six relief camps in North Tripura district, which is housing displaced Reangs from neighbouring Mizoram.

The high court yesterday directed that the committee be constituted before May 31 to investigate health, sanitation and food given to the inmates and the education being imparted to the children in the camps.

A single bench of Justice Subhasish Talaptra passed the order in a case filed by petitioner Mangal Debbarma and Paromita Dhar on April 21 alleging that the displaced persons were living in subhuman condition for the last 16 years.

About 32,000 displaced Reangs were living in the camps since 1997.

"They are not illegal immigrants to India. They have been forced to leave their home state because of ethnic strife and because of the fact that the powers in the home state are unable to protect the basic rights of the members of this community. Members of this community are not treated like human beings," the petition alleged.