Opposition demanded inquiry into TCS officer's suicide

Agartala, Feb 29 (UNI) Opposition Congress parties have demanded CBI inquiry into the death of senior Tripura Civil Service(TCS) officer and Returning Officer(RO) of Raimavelly constitution Gandacherra Sachi Mohan Debbarma.

Police said that the 51-year-old Sub-Divisional Magistrate(SDM) was found hanging from the ceiling of his official residence yesterday morning after a public brawl with workers of an Opposition party over excess distribution of postal ballots.

The local people reported to the police that Mr Debbarma was agitated when he returned to his residence yesterday after a heated altercation with workers of the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura(INPT), which accused him of distributing extra postal ballots at the CPM's behest.

Police said it appeared to be a ''case of suicide'', but INPT General Secretary and candidate Rabindra Debbarma said CPI(M) members might have murdered the bureaucrat to keep him from spilling the truth about extra postal ballots being issued.

A suicidal note was recovered from his residence but the text of the note was not known, police report said.

The bureaucrat was allegedly pressured into issuing more than 300 postal ballots, much in excess of the requirement, on Tuesday and the bureaucrat skipped a meeting of returning officers, convened by CEO in Agartala on March 27 last.

Mr Rabindra Debbarma had filed a complaint with chief electoral officer leading to the SDM being questioned.

The Opposition Congress and INPT demanded CBI inquiry into the incident, while Tripura Civil Services Officers' Association termed it as a "mysterious death case" and demanded separate enquiry.

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