Tripura: Illegally-built community club demolished

Agartala: The building of a community club at Ushabazar in West Tripura district was demolished on Wednesday as it was built on government land, officials said. The secretary of the club, Bharat Ratna Sangha, Durga Prasanna Deb alias Vikki was allegedly shot dead on April 30 over a feud for government contracts, and during the course of the investigation, it was found that some club members were involved it, they said.

It was also found that the building of the club was built on government land, they said. "Accordingly, the administration issued a notice to the club asking why the building will not be demolished as it was constructed on government land. As we did not receive a satisfactory reply from the club within the stipulated time, which was July 15, the illegal structure was bulldozed," District Magistrate Vishal Kumar said.

He said the government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards land mafia, smuggling and fighting over government contracts across the state. Kumar said the government was planning to build a public health centre at the spot, located a few km away from the Agartala airport. The prime suspect in the murder, Raju Barman, was the former secretary of the club. He was arrested recently from Guwahati.