On January 9, Jitendra Chaudhury, a senior CPI(M) leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Tripura Assembly, strongly criticized the state’s Director General of Police (DGP), Anurag Dhankar, over claims that overall crime in Tripura had fallen by 8.33 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year. Chaudhury argued that the official figures failed to reflect the reality on the ground.
The CPI(M) leader accused the DGP of presenting a “scripted chart” of crime statistics designed to appease the political leadership, while overlooking incidents that suggested worsening law and order. Chaudhury cited an alleged attack on a CPI(M) rally near the police headquarters on December 24, where he claimed the Officer in Charge of the West Agartala police station had tried to block the filing of a complaint. He also pointed to an incident where miscreants allegedly entered the MLA hostel in Khejuragan, Agartala, and issued death threats to an MLA. According to Chaudhury, the police often claimed they could not guarantee security for opposition rallies, which he said contradicted the official narrative of a decline in crime.
“Despite such incidents, the DGP was forced to claim an 8.33 percent drop in the overall crime rate,” Chaudhury stated, questioning the validity of the police data.
On a more positive note, Chaudhury expressed support for a recent ruling by the Tripura High Court, which directed the state government to grant regular pay scales to employees who were recruited on fixed pay for permanent vacant positions. Chaudhury reminded the BJP of its 2018 election promise to abolish fixed pay and contractual employment, hoping that the government would now implement the court’s directive. The CPI(M)-led Left Front had introduced a guideline in 2000 under which employees were hired on fixed pay for five years before being considered for regular pay.
Chaudhury also took aim at the Narendra Modi-led central government over the introduction of the G-RAM-G law, which he claimed effectively undermines the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He vowed that his party would mobilize public support to demand the repeal of the original employment guarantee legislation.
On Thursday, DGP Anurag Dhankar had reported that Tripura recorded 3,698 crime cases in 2025, an 8.33 percent decline from the 4,033 cases in 2024. Police data showed a significant drop in property-related offenses such as dacoity, robbery, burglary, and theft, down by 16.04 percent. Murder cases also decreased by 18.10 percent, with 95 reported in 2025 compared to 116 the year before.
