Agartala: Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Asish Saha has called for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged murder of Ashish Das, a BJP worker from Surma in Dhalai district.
He also demanded that the SIT be headed by a senior IPS officer to ensure impartiality.
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Ashish Das, who had switched from the Congress to the BJP two years ago following the mysterious death of his younger brother Asim, was reported missing on June 17.
After five days, his mutilated body was discovered near a brick kiln allegedly owned by a person named Souvik Das. Police are yet to make any arrests in the case.
In a police complaint, the victim’s mother named Paritosh Pal—husband of local BJP MLA Swapna Das Pal—as a prime suspect. She alleged that Pal was previously accused in Asim’s death and had issued threats to Ashish. However, no action had been taken at the time.
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While police claim that the investigation is progressing and arrests are imminent, no formal steps have been taken so far. This has drawn criticism from opposition leaders, who allege political interference in the case.
Separate delegations from the Congress, led by Asish Saha, and the CPI(M), led by state secretary and opposition leader Jitendra Chaudhury, visited the bereaved family. However, no representative from the ruling BJP, including the local MLA, has met the family yet.
Speaking to the media, Saha criticized the role of local BJP leaders. “We don’t know the substance of the allegations made by the victim’s mother, but the silence and inaction of ruling party leaders, including MLA Swapna Das Pal, is not appreciable. The police have not even interrogated Pal despite the family and neighbours directly accusing him,” he said.
In a letter to Tripura DGP Amitabh Ranjan, Saha reiterated the family’s suspicion that political influence and land mafia involvement may have played a role in the killing. He urged authorities to take swift and impartial action.