Agartala: Three persons of a family were brutally killed in a clash over longstanding land dispute between two families at Jogendra Para area under Dabbari Panchayat of Kamalpur, a semi-urban sub-division under Dhalai district of Tripura on Thursday.
The police have arrested three persons in connection with the case but locals alleged that the prime accused are still absconding.
Sources said the families of Santosh Das and Bikash Das were entangled in a longstanding dispute surrounding a piece of land. The dispute gradually snowballed into a rivalry which escalated further as intervention of local Panchayat and village heads also failed to resolve the issue.
It may be mentioned here that both the families are politically well connected and supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. On several occasions, attempts were made from the personal levels also to reach an amicable solution but failed.
On Thursday, Bikash Das and Dhirendra Das allegedly launched an attack on the family of Santosh Das. Local sources said the assailants, along with their gang, mercilessly thrashed Santosh Das, Rajani Das, Bilasi Das and Pritush Das. The perpetrators inflicted severe injuries on the victims by hitting them with lethal weapons.
Hearing the family’s hue and cry, neighbours rushed to the spot and rescued the injured persons. They were first rushed to Dhalai district hospital but observing their deteriorating conditions, the doctor referred them to GBP Hospital in Agartala.
Rajani Das (56) died en route to Agartala at Teliamura, while Bilasi Das (49) and her son Pritush Das (28) were successfully admitted at GBP hospital but their lives could not be saved. Bilasi died within an hour of reaching the hospital, while Pritush breathed his last on Thursday midnight.
Although Dhirendra Das and Bikash Das remained elusive to the police dragnet, three of their accomplices have been arrested by the police.
Speaking on the issue, SDPO Kamalpur Sabyasachi Debnath said, “We have arrested three persons so far. Investigation is underway to trace the other culprits involved in the incident”. The arrested persons have been identified as Amal Das (25), Dilip Das (50) and Prasenjit Das (27).
According to police, security arrangements had been beefed up to avert any untoward incident. “Police and TSR forces have been deployed across the area. The last rites of the deceased persons have also been performed amid tight security on Friday,” said Debnath.
Also Read | PM calls for reducing slavery to foreign goods in 75th year of Independence
