Agartala: April 04: A major land scam involving crores of rupees has come to light across Tripura, drawing sharp criticism from Pradesh Congress President Ashish Kumar Saha. During a press conference at the Pradesh Congress Bhavan, Saha accused the state government, led by Chief Minister Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha, of failing to take action on the issue. He demanded a CBI investigation into the scam, highlighting that if no action is taken within 15 days, the Pradesh Congress would launch a larger movement across the state.
Saha pointed out that Congress MLAs who raised the issue in the Tripura Assembly were silenced, and the matter was only brought to public attention by MLA Sudip Roy Barman. He referenced a letter sent by the District Magistrate (DM) of Sepahijala on September 18, 2023, which detailed corruption involving 1,400 kani of land. The letter named senior officials, including Land Records and Settlement Officer Ratnajit Debbarma and Assistant Senior Computer Operator Tapas Chowdhury, who were allegedly involved with land mafias. The DM raised concerns over land being transferred without proper documentation, government land being converted for personal use, and allocated land being illegally re-designated.
Shocking to Saha, just 22 days after the letter was sent, the DM was transferred. He believes this was retaliation for exposing the corruption, as the officials involved might have manipulated land records if they were alerted. Saha stressed that the Chief Minister must intervene immediately to address the matter. If no action is taken, he called for a CBI probe and warned of intensified protests by the Congress party, indicating growing frustration with the ongoing corruption in Tripura’s land dealings.
