Tripura BJP suspends Barjala Mandal president for ‘land mafia activities’

Agartala: BJP Tripura Pradesh Committee on Sunday has suspended Rajib Saha, who served as the president of the Barjala Mandal Committee in Agartala, with immediate effect.This action comes in response to allegations of his involvement in land mafia activities in the northern parts of the city. Saha’s suspension follows his arrest by Tripura Police on Saturday. He was arrested after an FIR was filed by Kunal Ghosh, the personal guard of Shankar Lal Datta, who is the registrar of Tripura High Court.It is reported that Saha opposed Datta’s direct attempt to purchase a land plot in the Patunagar area without cooperating with his group. According to Ghosh, Saha and others engaged in disruptive behaviour towards Datta and issued open threats. When Ghosh intervened, Saha allegedly assaulted him, leading to physical violence and life-threatening behaviour. The police were alerted, resulting in Saha’s detention at the scene.Saha is accused of leading a robust land-grabbing syndicate that has been active in areas such as Lichubagan, Barjala, Natunnagar, and the airport stretch for a long time. Their alleged activities include the illegal occupation of public lands, including canals and water bodies, and the fraudulent sale of these properties using forged documents.Reports indicate that Saha had a history of involvement in extortion and land mafia activities during the previous Left Front regime. Upon a change in political power, he aligned himself with BJP and continued his operations under this new affiliation, ultimately rising to the position of Mandal president for Barjala a year ago.In response to these developments, BJP state general secretary Amit Rakshit communicated in an official letter that the suspension of Saha was decided by Rajib Bhattacharjee, the state president of BJP Tripura Pradesh, to uphold the party’s integrity and reputation amid the ongoing legal proceedings against Saha.Meanwhile, police said investigations into Saha’s suspected criminal operations are ongoing. He has been presented before a local court in Mohanpur, where police are seeking his remand for further investigation into the case.