Policeman killed, several injured in Tripura clashes

AGARTALA - A policeman was killed and 15 political activists and a police official were injured in Tripura late Saturday night as supporters of ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and a tribal party clashed during counting of votes of local bodies’ elections, police said.

“Supporters of the CPI-M and Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) clashed at Jampuijala in West Tripura, when the election result of a village committee went in favour of ruling party,” police spokesman Nepal Das told IANS. The village is 35 km south of Agartala.

“Police constable Ranjan Debbarma, 41, died of heart attack when he intervened to separate the clashing rival party activists. Takarjala police station in-charge Shyamal Debbarma was also critically injured in the pitched battle.”

All the injured people including Shyamal Debbarma were shifted to the different government hospitals.

Tension ran high in the trouble-torn areas and additional security forces led by senior police officials have rushed to the spot.

According to the state election commission officials, the counting of ballots for the 527 village committee elections, held Thursday in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas, still going on in 44 counting centers across the northeastern state.

“The CPI-M has already won one third of the 527 village committees and is far ahead of the Congress and other parties in hundreds of seats where counting is in progress,” State Election Commission secretary Gobinda Chandra Bhattacharjee told reporters here late Saturday night.