Tripura Cong seeks SIT probe into BJP man’s murder

Agartala: Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Asish Saha on Tuesday demanded a special investigation team (SIT) probe into the alleged murder of Ashish Das, a BJP worker from Surma in Dhalai district. He called for the SIT to be headed by a senior IPS officer.Ashish Das, who had switched from Congress to the BJP two years ago after the mysterious death of his younger brother Asim, had been missing for five days before his mutilated body was recovered last week. Police have yet to make any arrest in connection with the case. The victim's mother filed a police complaint naming Paritosh Pal, husband of local BJP MLA Swapna Das Pal, as a suspect. She alleged that Pal had previously been accused in Asim's death, and had issued threats to Ashish. However, no action was taken at the time, she said. While the police claim the investigation is progressing and that arrests are imminent, no formal action has been taken so far. Separate delegations from the Congress, led by Saha, and CPI(M), led by state secretary and opposition leader Jitendra Chaudhury, visited the bereaved family. No representative from the ruling BJP — including the local MLA — has met the family so far. "We don't know the substance of the allegation of the victim's mother, but the role of local ruling party leaders, including MLA Swapna Das Pal, is not appreciable. Similarly, police are not even interrogating Pal despite the family and neghibours directly accusing him of the murder," Saha told the media. In a letter to Tripura DGP Amitabh Ranjan, Saha said Ashish Das had been missing since June 17 and was later found dead near a brick kiln owned by a person named Souvik Das. The family suspect the involvement of political influence and land mafias in the killing.