AGARTALA: Three members of a family of Dabbari village in Kamalpur under Tripura’s Dhalai district were hacked to death on Thursday over a land dispute.
The head of the family, Rajani Das (65), died on the way to the hospital while his wife Bilasi (60) died in the evening and his son Pratyosh (35) breathed his last late at night. The Das’ elder son, Santosh (39) who survived the attack, was stated to be out of danger, said AIG (law & order) Jyotisman Daschoudhury here.
“Santosh has lodged an FIR against 11 persons, including three women. Three men have been arrested,” DasChoudhury added. Dhalai district police said a murder case has been registered against the victims’ two neighbours — Bikash Das and Dhirendra Das — who are absconding.
Police sources said both the families allegedly had a long-pending dispute over a plot of land and after the BJP-led government came to power in 2018, Bikash Das joined the party and recently became a leader of its youth front. Taking advantage of political proximity with the ruling party, he allegedly grabbed the disputed land forcefully, they added. According to the police, trouble began around 3.30 pm on Thursday when Bikash went to grab the plot and demolished the boundary. The two families attacked each other with sharp weapons and iron bars. In a short while, all four members of Pratyosh’s family suffered serious injuries. Hearing their cries, the neighbours rescued them and shifted them to a local hospital in a critical condition. Immediately, they were referred to Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) but three family members passed away.
Bikash and Dhirendra had fled the spot before the neighbours assembled. The police said alerts against the duo have been issued across the state, including BSF to prevent them from escaping to Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, tension continued in Manikpur where a primary health centre was attacked following the death of two children of malaria in Dhalai district. DasChoudhury said six youths of Manikpur village of Dhalai district were arrested on Friday in connection with the assault on doctor and health staff in the local PHC on Wednesday.
