Tripura CPI(M) leader opposes DGP's claim on crime reduction in state

Agartala, Jan 9 (PTI) Senior CPI(M) leader Jitendra Chaudhury on Friday opposed Director General of Police Anurag Dhankar's claim of an 8.33 per cent fall in the overall crime graph in 2025 in the northeastern state compared to the previous year.

Chaudhury, the leader of the opposition in the Tripura Assembly, alleged that Dhankar has read out a scripted chart on overall crime to "appease the political masters", forgetting the ground reality.

"A CPI(M) rally was attacked near the police headquarters on December 24, and when the party went to lodge a complaint, the Officer in Charge (OC) of West Agartala police station, Rana Chatterjee tried to avoid registration of the complaint," he alleged.

He stated the miscreants stormed into the MLA hostel at Khejuragan in Agartala recently and threatened to kill an MLA.

"The police often express inability to provide security to the opposition party's rallies which reflects the kind of law and order situation prevailing in the state. But our DGP was compelled to make a claim of an 8.33 per cent fall in the overall crime graph," the Left leader said.

Chaudhury also welcomed the Tripura High Court's order asking the state government to provide regular pay scale to all the employees of fixed pay, who were recruited against permanent vacant posts.

The Left Front government had introduced a guideline for employees to be recruited even against permanent vacant posts shall work for five years as fixed pay employees in 2000. The CPI(M)-led coalition was defeated by the BJP in the 2018 assembly election.

Following a writ petition, a division bench of the High Court led by Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao on Thursday cancelled a ruling by a single bench order, and asked the government that all the employees recruited against permanent vacant posts should be given regular pay scale from the day they joined the service.

Chaudhury said, "The BJP in its vision document unveiled before the 2018 elections had promised to abolish fixed pay, DRW (daily rated workers) and the concept of contractual work, if it was voted to power. I hope the BJP-led government will implement the court order." Criticising the Narendra Modi government for bringing in the G-RAM-G law abolishing the MGNREGA, he said the party will reach out to the people demanding roll back of the original employment guarantee act.

The DGP on Thursday said that total number of crimes reported in 2025 was 3,698, registering a decline of 8.3 per cent compared to 4,033 cases in 2024.

The number of property-related offences, including dacoity, robbery, burglary and theft, dropped by 16.04 per cent, while that of murder cases was declined by 18.10 per cent, with 95 cases registered in 2025 compared to 116 in 2024. PTI PS NN