Tripura CPI(M) slams DGP’s crime reduction claim, alleges law and order breakdown

Senior CPI(M) leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Tripura Assembly, Jitendra Chaudhury, on January 9 strongly opposed Director General of Police Anurag Dhankar’s claim that the state recorded an 8.33 per cent decline in overall crime in 2025 compared to the previous year, alleging that the figures do not reflect the ground reality.

Chaudhury accused the DGP of presenting a “scripted chart” on crime statistics to appease the political leadership, while ignoring incidents that, according to him, point to a deteriorating law and order situation in the state. He cited an alleged attack on a CPI(M) rally near the police headquarters on December 24, claiming that when party leaders attempted to lodge a complaint, the Officer in Charge of West Agartala police station tried to avoid registering the case.

The CPI(M) leader further alleged that miscreants recently stormed into the MLA hostel at Khejuragan in Agartala and issued death threats to an MLA. He said the police frequently express their inability to provide security for opposition rallies, which, he argued, contradicts the official narrative of falling crime rates.

“Despite such incidents, the DGP was compelled to claim an 8.33 per cent fall in the overall crime graph,” Chaudhury said, questioning the credibility of the data released by the police.

At the same time, Chaudhury welcomed a recent order of the Tripura High Court directing the state government to provide regular pay scales to employees recruited on fixed pay against permanent vacant posts. He recalled that the Left Front government had introduced a guideline in 2000 under which such employees were required to work for five years on fixed pay. The CPI(M)-led coalition lost power to the BJP in the 2018 Assembly elections.

Following a writ petition, a division bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao on Thursday set aside a single bench order and directed the government to grant regular pay scales to all employees recruited against permanent vacant posts from the date of their appointment.

Chaudhury also reminded the BJP of its 2018 election promise to abolish fixed pay, daily-rated work (DRW), and contractual employment. “I hope the BJP-led government will implement the court order,” he said.

Criticising the Narendra Modi-led central government, the CPI(M) leader opposed the introduction of the G-RAM-G law, alleging that it effectively abolishes the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He said his party would mobilise public support to demand the rollback of the original employment guarantee legislation.

On Thursday, DGP Anurag Dhankar stated that Tripura recorded 3,698 crime cases in 2025, marking an 8.3 per cent decline from 4,033 cases in 2024. According to police data, property-related offences such as dacoity, robbery, burglary and theft dropped by 16.04 per cent, while murder cases declined by 18.10 per cent, with 95 cases reported in 2025 compared to 116 the previous year.