Police Barricade Ex-MoS Pratima Bhoumik, Raising Questions Over Santirbazar Failure

A peculiar incident unfolded on the road in Tripura on Saturday, October 25, 2025, which has ignited a fresh round of controversy regarding the state’s law and order machinery. Former Union Minister of State, Pratima Bhoumik, was forcibly stopped by the Tripura Police while en route from Agartala to a scheduled event in Dharmanagar. The action—a deployment of roadblocks at Ambassa—has prompted the senior leader to publicly question the police force’s priorities and effectiveness, particularly in light of their perceived failure to prevent recent violence in the Santirbazar area.

The sight of a high-profile politician and former minister being halted by a substantial police presence has thrown a harsh spotlight on the operational decisions being made on the ground, leading to intense scrutiny over the timing and intent behind the Tripura Police Barricade.

The Ambassa Incident: Details of the Tripura Police Barricade

The incident occurred near the Naillah Bari checkpoint in the Ambassa subdivision of the Dhalai district. Bhoumik was traveling to Dharmanagar when she encountered the unexpected obstruction.

• Deployment of Force: Senior police officials, alongside the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), were present at the checkpoint when Bhoumik’s convoy was stopped.
• The Route Blockade: She was halted first at Naillah Bari and subsequently at the Ambassa-Kamalpur junction, where additional barricades were reportedly set up.
• Official Rationale: The police’s justification for the action was that the barricades were installed as a “precautionary measure” following recent unrest and rising tensions in the Santirbazar area of Kamalpur.
• Route Irrelevance: Crucially, Bhoumik noted that her intended travel route to Dharmanagar did not pass directly through the specific area affected by the unrest, making the pre-emptive stop even more questionable.
• Public Outcry: Expressing visible frustration at the heavy-handed security measure, Bhoumik remarked on the bizarre nature of the situation: “This is my government, yet I’m being stopped by barricades. It’s bizarre.”

The encounter, while brief, culminated in a highly public conversation between Bhoumik and Dhalai district’s Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Uttam Banik, where the political veteran did not mince words about her dissatisfaction with the Tripura Police Barricade.

The Santirbazar Question: Questioning Police Priorities

The main thrust of Pratima Bhoumik’s criticism centered on the apparent disparity between the proactive stopping of her movement and the reactive (or absent) response to the actual violence that had taken place just days earlier. The controversy is less about the act of stopping Bhoumik, and more about the perceived lapse in duty during a genuine law-and-order crisis.

Bhoumik’s key questions and allegations regarding the Tripura Police Barricade and the Santirbazar events included:

• Prior Warning Ignored: She highlighted that there was a prior public announcement about potential picketing and unrest on October 23. She questioned why preventative action wasn’t taken then.
• Absence During Violence: The former MoS pointedly asked, “Where was the police when hooligans unleashed violence in Santirbazar? Where were the barricades on the day of the actual incident?” This rhetorical question implied a failure in intelligence or response during the peak of the unrest.
• Specific Incident Mentioned: Bhoumik specifically cited a troubling incident on the evening of October 23, where a TCS (Tripura Civil Service) officer and an engineer were reportedly brutally assaulted. She challenged the police, asking where they were when government employees were being targeted.
• Disproportionate Response: The core of the criticism is that the massive effort deployed to establish the Tripura Police Barricade to stop her—a symbolic, political move—was disproportionate to the perceived lack of visible police preparedness during a time of actual community unrest.

Conclusion: Demanding Accountability and Clarity

The events of the day, marked by the confrontation between a senior political figure and the police force meant to serve her government, have opened up an important dialogue on accountability. The implementation of the Tripura Police Barricade has inadvertently drawn attention away from a mere precautionary measure and towards the more serious allegations of a delayed or inadequate police response to the Santirbazar violence.

For the state’s residents, the incident raises crucial questions about the effective deployment of security forces and the political pressures that might influence their operations. The administration now faces the challenge of providing a clear, credible explanation for both the stopping of Bhoumik and, more importantly, the lapses in security that led to the violence and assault in Santirbazar just a few days prior. The controversy demands transparency and a firm commitment to ensuring security across the state, irrespective of political movements.