In West Tripura District, two groups of
unruly people pelted bricks and stones upon a team of police and State Rifles,
injuring five security personnel on the evening of Thursday.
The incident occurred in Panchabati area
of Sidhai Mohanpur village in West Tripura district when the team was returning
after an operation to destroy 60,000 cannabis plants, informed police.
The injured police personnel of the
Tripura police and the Tripura State Rifles were treated for their injuries and
discharged from the hospital, said an officer at police headquarters in State
capital Agartala.
A case has been filed and an inquiry
commenced to identify the attackers, the officer added.
Officials said the team had parked their
vehicles away from the cannabis farm in Panchabati. When they were returning
after destroying the plants, a group of people attacked them with stones. A
second set of people vandalised the police vehicles.
A police officer said TSR personnel used
mild force to disperse the villagers.
As per official data, the authorities
have destroyed nearly 2.8 million cannabis plants this year as part of
Tripura’s continuing crackdown on drugs in the State. The damage is calculated
to be of around Rs 140 crore to the unlawful drug economy.
A majority of these illegal cannabis
plantations can be seen in the Sepahijala district, which shares the highest
length of international border with Bangladesh among all other districts of
Tripura. This district’s border parts are still unfenced due to local disputes.
NE Watch Desk
