(a) the number of arrests made in Tripura under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) along with the list of activities that are considered to be unlawful under UAPA;
(b) whether the Government recognises a social media post that criticises the Government to be an unlawful activity;
(c) if not, whether the Government can justify the arrests made in Tripura for posting and reporting about the recent communal violence in Tripura; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
(SHRI NITYANAND RAI)
(a) : The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles the data on crime as reported to it by States and Union Territories and publishes the same in its annual publication ‘Crime in India’. The latest published report is of the year 2020. As per the Report, two persons were arrested under the UAPA in Tripura in the year 2020.
The ‘unlawful activity’ has been defined under section 2 (1) (o) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
(b) to (d) : ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are state subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order and protection of life and property rests with the respective State Governments. The States Governments are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of law.