The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Tuesday conducted a series of raids in West Tripura and Sepahijala districts in at least four locations, according to a highly placed source in the Tripura Police.
The source said the raids concerned alleged financial crimes and land graft issues, though no official statement was available from the ED over the raids.
The raids were conducted at the residences of Mihir Debnath, Paritosh Bhowmik, Swarup Banik, and CPI(M) leader Pabitra Kar in West Tripura district, as well as Haradhan Baidya in Sepahijala district. Pabitra Kar is a former deputy speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly. No comments were available from the CPI(M) over the raids.
A team of security personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) assisted the ED team in the raid.
A copy of the panchanama for the raid at the house of Mihir Debnath of Agartala reads, “… During the course of the search proceedings, the whole premises was thoroughly searched and no incriminating documents/material has been seized and, hence, NIL seizure recorded.”
The source indicated that the raids aimed to trace unverified wealth and freeze bank accounts related to ongoing investigations.
On January 10, the ED conducted a series of raids in different parts of West Tripura and Sepahijala districts, especially in the households of a few people in the Agartala and Melaghar municipality, Kalamchowra village, respectively.
Story continues below this ad
The central agency at that time also did not divulge the findings of the raids. However, sources said those who were raided were suspected of being involved with drug peddling.
In December 2022, two months before the Tripura Assembly elections, the ED conducted raids in separate areas of West Tripura and Sepahijala districts as part of an investigation into drug trafficking cases, seizing documents related to bank deposits worth Rs 2 crore.
Chargesheets were also filed against Sujit Sarkar, Bijoy Paul and family members of Paresh Chandra Roy for their alleged “active involvement in storage, trafficking and sale of cannabis (beyond the prescribed commercial quantity) – prohibited under the NDPS Act”.
