Tripura scribe shot dead at police base

Debraj Deb, TT, Agartala: A senior journalist was shot dead allegedly by a Tripura State Rifles 2nd Battalion rifleman during an altercation with the battalion's commandant inside the unit's headquarters in West Tripura district on Tuesday.

Sudip Dutta Bhowmik, 50, a senior journalist with Syandan Patrika, a local vernacular daily, and News Vanguard, a local cable television channel, was allegedly shot dead by rifleman Nandagopal Reang during an altercation with TSR 2nd battalion commandant Tapan Debbarma.

Sources said the altercation built up after Debbarma ordered a body search on the journalist after he allegedly "stole" - according to one source documents and according to another money - from Debbarma's table while the commandant was in the toilet. as the argument heated up, Reang, in a hot-headed move, fired twice at Bhowmik, the sources said, requesting anonymity.

Bhowmik was declared brought dead at the GB Hospital here at 2pm. The body bore bullet wounds in the abdomen. The editor of News Vanguard, Sebak Bhattacharya, told this correspondent that Bhowmik was an ace crime reporter."He was always hunting for news. For all we know, he was killed on duty. It is an unfortunate and unacceptable incident."

Superintendent of police (West) Abhijit Saptarshi told The Telegraph that the accused rifleman has been detained and would be arrested soon. He said forensic experts have been sent to the site.

The state units of the Congress, BJP and the All India Professionals' Congress demanded a CBI probe. The ruling CPM demand punishment for the culprits through proper probe.

PCC president Birajit Sinha said the incident was a cold-blooded murder and demanded proper investigation to unearth the truth.

He said the Centre could initiate suo motu CBI investigation into such cases even if a state didn't recommend it.

The general secretary of the Tripura chapter of the All India Professionals' Congress, Devid Debbarma, blamed the ruling Left Front for the murder. "TSR is under the state home department. The government must take responsibility for the murder," he said.

Saying that this was the second incident of a journalist's murder in the past two months, that too before next year's Assembly elections, Devid said, "A CBI inquiry must be conducted this time. The government must intervene".

Condemning the incident, BJP state president Biplab Deb said the murder of two journalists in two months showed a complete lack of law and order in the state and demanded a CBI inquiry. The BJP had also demanded a CBI probe into Shantanu's murder.

CPM state secretariat committee member Narayan Kar condemned Sudip's death. "It's very unfortunate. We demand punishment for all the culprits through proper investigation" he said.