Singicherra Massacre, also known as the Singicherra No. 2 Bazaar Massacre, refers to the killing of 16 unarmed Bengali Hindu villagers on 13 January 2002 at Singicherra in the Khowai subdivision of Tripura, India. The attack was carried out by insurgents of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT).
Details
On 13 January 2002, on the eve of the Hindu festival Makar Sankranti, Bengali villagers had gathered at the Singicherra market for shopping. Two groups of NLFT insurgents, reportedly clad in olive green uniforms, encircled the market in the evening and opened indiscriminate fire on the crowd. Sixteen people were killed on the spot, and at least nine others were injured, including women and children. The bazaar was crowded with shoppers at the time of the attack.
Location
Singicherra is located approximately 3 kilometers from Khowai town in the West Tripura district of Tripura, India.
Perpetrators
The attack was perpetrated by the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), an insurgent group active in the state of Tripura. The NLFT is designated as a terrorist organization by the Government of India.
Aftermath
The massacre was widely reported in Indian and international media as one of the major incidents of insurgent violence in Tripura during the early 2000s. The attack highlighted the ongoing ethnic conflict and insurgency in the region, where the NLFT had been targeting Bengali Hindu settlers in Tripura.
