Agartala, Jan 10: Senior CPI(M) leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Tripura Assembly, Jitendra Chaudhury, on January 9 strongly contested Director General of Police Anurag Dhankar’s claim that the state witnessed 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 satisfy the political leadership, while ignoring incidents that, according to him, indicate a worsening law and order situation. He cited an alleged attack on a CPI(M) rally near the police headquarters on December 24 and claimed that when party leaders went to lodge a complaint, the Officer-in-Charge of West Agartala police station attempted to avoid registering the case.
The CPI(M) leader further alleged that miscreants recently barged into the MLA hostel at Khejuragan in Agartala and issued death threats to an MLA. He also claimed that police authorities often express their inability to provide security for opposition programmes, which he said contradicts official claims of declining crime.
“Despite such incidents, the DGP was compelled to claim an 8.33 per cent fall in overall crime,” Chaudhury said, questioning the credibility of the police data.
At the same time, Chaudhury welcomed a recent order of the Tripura High Court directing the state government to grant regular pay scales to employees recruited on fixed pay against permanent vacant posts. Referring to a writ petition, he said a division bench headed by Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao set aside an earlier single bench order and ruled that such employees should receive regular pay from the date of their appointment.
He recalled that the Left Front government had introduced fixed-pay guidelines in 2000, under which employees were required to serve for five years before regularisation. The CPI(M)-led government lost power to the BJP in the 2018 Assembly elections. Chaudhury also reminded the BJP of its election promise to abolish fixed pay, daily-rated work (DRW) and contractual employment, expressing hope that the state government would implement the High Court’s directive.
Criticising the Narendra Modi-led central government, Chaudhury opposed the proposed G-RAM-G law, alleging that it effectively dismantles the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He said the CPI(M) would mobilise public opinion to demand the restoration of the original employment guarantee framework.
On Thursday, DGP Anurag Dhankar stated that Tripura recorded 3,698 crime cases in 2025, down from 4,033 cases in 2024. According to police data, property-related offences such as dacoity, robbery, burglary and theft declined by 16.04 per cent, while murder cases fell by 18.10 per cent, with 95 cases reported in 2025 compared to 116 in the previous year.
