Agartala turns into mafia hub

AGARTALA, March 6: Contract killers and organised gangs of criminals have made inroads into the Tripura capital, compounding the law and order situation in the insurgency-ravaged state. Over the past year, four persons have been shot dead by contract killers in Agartala. Congress legislator Madhusudan Saha, alias Bhola, was one of the victims. He was killed in the heart of the town on February 20. Agartala's proximity with Bangladesh is one of the reasons why its crime rate is high. Goons active here cross over to Bangladesh whenever the police launch a drive against smuggling and other crimes. What is particularly frustrating for the law-enforcing agencies is the fact that the Centre is yet to sign an extradition treaty with Bangladesh. Once a criminal crosses the border, there is no way the authorities can get him back for trial. Apart from loopholes in the system, the police have also had to face allegations of inefficiency. Residents of Agartala say major criminal cases remain unsolved because the police are not equipped to handle these. Interference by politicians is also believed to be one of the reasons why criminals go scot free. The law and order situation has worsened over the past year, with goons allegedly owing allegiance to the Left Front joining the fray. People sat up and took notice of the politically-sponsored mafia when subdivisional officer (Sadar) Sukhram Debbarma was shot at outside his office chamber on February 5 last year. Debbarma's driver was killed on the spot, while he succumbed to his injuries in Calcutta on February 16. One person was arrested in connection with the attack on the official, but he was later released on bail. It is alleged that criminals having links with the Left killed Debbarma because he refused to sign certain documents pertaining to a lucrative road construction contract. However, the police are yet to make a breakthrough in the case. The state government appears to have brushed the issue under the carpet by providing allegedly out-of-turn benefits to members of the slain subdivisional officer's family. It was in June last year that former director-general of police K.T.D. Singh filed an FIR in the West Agartala police station against a mafia don who tried to snatch a construction contract from a local businessman. The don was subsequently arrested only because the person who filed the FIR against him was the police chief. Two months later, one of the youth suspected to be involved in the attack on Debbarma was killed in the capital town. The police are yet to arrest any of the killers. However, they have published advertisements in local newspapers.