Local club secretary shot dead while sitting in his car in Tripura

Durga Prasanna Deb, alias Viki Deb, was the secretary of Bharat Ratna Sangha. West Tripura Superintendent of Police Kiran Kumar said the murder occurred around 8 pm when the assailant approached Deb’s car with his face covered and prompted him to lower the car window. Upon doing so, the assailant fired three rounds from his firearm at a close range and killed Deb on the spot, said Kumar.

In its preliminary investigation, police found that enmity between two groups of the club had led to the murder. The accused person was the former president of the club. When asked about the motive behind the murder, West district superintendent of police Kiran Kumar said, “It was actually group war”.

Shalbagan is a sensitive area with the state headquarters of the Indian Army, Border Security Force (BSF), and the Central Armed Police Force (CRPF) close by. The entire area is under the jurisdiction of the New Capital Complex (NCC) police station, which oversees the high-security zone of Raj Bhawan, the Legislative Assembly building, and the civil secretariat.

The victim’s body was moved to the mortuary of a private hospital where leaders of the ruling BJP visited the bereaved family.

Deb’s wife has alleged that five people were responsible for her husband’s murder. She demanded severe punishment for the culprits and said no stone should be left unturned to ensure justice.

Meanwhile, former MLA and senior BJP leader Dr Dilip Das expressed grief over the death and said, “This is an unfortunate incident. The deceased was the secretary of the local club. We had organised an initiative to offer drinking water to people in the hot weather. He had overseen the entire event.”

In an oblique reference to anti-social elements in the area, the BJP leader said he could not pinpoint the reason behind the murder but stated that everyone, including the police, knew the reason. He appealed to all agencies of the state police, intelligence bureau, and CID to swiftly act and bring the criminals to justice regardless of their political affiliations.

“I have had a word with the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) here. I have asked them to conduct combing search operations if needed, and the criminals should be brought to justice. It doesn’t matter which party or colour they belong to. Crime is a crime. A criminal is a criminal. These incidents should stop,” Dr Das said.

The former MLA also said Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha was clear about making Tripura crime-free and drug-free. “Crime and drugs move hand in hand. The government and the chief minister are clear on the stand to achieve a crime-free and drug-free Tripura. The police are already on the streets. So, there will be no compromise.”