5 cops injured, police vehicles damaged in clash after cannabis plantation destruction in West Tripura

NEW DELHI, Dec 14
At least five personnel of Tripura Police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) were injured and several police vehicles were damaged in a skirmish between them and residents of the Sidhai Mohanpur village in West Tripura district after the forces destroyed a cannabis plantation in the locality Thursday afternoon.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, a senior official of the state police said a contingent of Tripura Police and the TSR reached the Panchabati area in Sidhai Mohanpur to destroy cannabis and came under attack on their way back after the operation in which they destroyed around 60,000 ganja plants. “The police and TSR jawans went to Panchabati to destroy cannabis plants, but the vehicles were parked a bit far away. Taking advantage of the situation, a group of locals attacked the police and TSR team on their way back after destroying the cannabis and threw bricks at them, injuring a few. A second group attacked the vehicles and damaged their glasses,” said the official.
“The forces retaliated in both cases with lathi charge and dispersed the miscreants but five policemen and TSR jawans sustained injuries. However, their injuries were not severe, and they were discharged from hospital after receiving primary treatment,” the official added.
The police filed a case and began a probe to find out those who attacked the contingent.
The official also said a sustained initiative is underway across the state to destroy illegal cannabis plantations, and at least 28 lakh cannabis plants were destroyed throughout the year till now, estimating damage of around Rs 140 crore to the illegal drug economy.
A majority of these illegal cannabis plantations were found 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.
Since the BJP-led government came to power in 2018, it has stressed a heavy crackdown on drugs and the illegal drug trade. However, incumbent Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha admitted a rise in drug-related activities recently and said drug peddlers were using Tripura as a corridor of the drug trade whilst stressing that the state topped the list in the Northeast region in illegal drug seizure and destruction.