Agartala: The probe into the “mysterious” death of Tripura Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag gathered pace as the state police authority expanded the inquiry team from three to ten members to expedite the high-profile investigation, officials said on Monday.
The body of Anurag, a 1994-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Tripura cadre, was found under mysterious circumstances in the washroom attached to his official chamber at the state police headquarters here on July 20.
A senior police official said that on July 24, the acting Director General of Police constituted a three-member team, led by West Tripura district’s Superintendent of Police Namit Pathak, to probe the “mysterious” death.
“Now SP Pathak has reconstituted the team with ten members under his leadership. Besides Additional Superintendent of Police, Urban, West Tripura, Dhruba Nath, the Officers-in-Charge of Cyber Crime Police Station, Amtali Police Station, West Agartala Women Police Station, and the Battala and Ramnagar Outposts are the other members of the investigation team. An Inspector of KTD Singh Police Training Academy and the previous Investigating Officer, Subhojit Deb, are also the members of the reconstituted investigation team,” the official said.
An official order said that the reconstituted investigation team would function in a coordinated manner, carry out all investigative activities in accordance with the law, and maintain confidentiality, professionalism, and impartiality.
“A daily briefing meeting will be held in the morning to review the progress of the investigation, discuss developments in the case, assign tasks, and formulate the strategy for further investigation. A daily debriefing meeting will be held in the evening to review the day’s progress, assess the outcome of the tasks assigned, identify any gaps in the investigation, and plan the course of action for the following day,” it said.
It said that the officers entrusted with specific assignments shall ensure the prompt execution of their allotted tasks and maintain close coordination with other members of the investigation team.
A daily progress report detailing the investigation carried out, evidence collected, technical analysis undertaken, and further action proposed shall be submitted by all officers concerned to the Superintendent of Police, West Tripura, every day for close monitoring and supervision of the investigation, the order said.
The order further said that a weekly progress report would be consolidated every Saturday and submitted to the Inspector General of Police, Law and Order.
Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former Tripura Minister Sudip Roy Barman on Sunday reiterated the party’s demand for a judicial inquiry, monitored by a sitting judge of the Tripura High Court, to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the “mysterious” death of the serving DGP.
“The mysterious death of Tripura’s police chief is not a political issue. The death of the state’s senior-most, honest, sincere, dedicated and dynamic police officer is a matter of utmost concern, not only for Tripura but also for the country,” he added.
Claiming that the circumstances surrounding the death were highly suspicious, Roy Barman had said: “We believe it is a case of murder. The people of the state, as well as police personnel and other government officials, want the truth behind the death of serving DGP Anurag to come out. If the state government, led by Chief Minister Manik Saha, suppresses such a serious matter, questions will inevitably be raised against it.”
The opposition CPI-M, CPI, and several other political parties have also demanded a judicial inquiry, monitored by a sitting Tripura High Court judge, to determine the circumstances and reasons behind the death of the state’s senior-most IPS officer. The Left parties and the Congress had earlier organised separate protest rallies in Tripura, pressing for a High Court-monitored judicial investigation into the incident.
Anurag was cremated with full state honours at his ancestral town of Baraut in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district on July 22. His son, Abhishek, lit the funeral pyre at the cremation ground near Bawli Chungi on the Delhi-Saharanpur Highway in the presence of family members, senior police officers and hundreds of mourners.
He had taken charge as Tripura’s DGP on May 17, 2025, succeeding Amitabh Ranjan, a 1988-batch IPS officer. Before assuming office as the state’s police chief, he served as the Director General of Police, Intelligence. During his distinguished career, Anurag also served with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and held several key assignments in central agencies, including as Joint Director and Additional Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), besides serving in the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
The senior IPS officer also led the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. His tenure as Tripura Director General of Police was scheduled to continue until May 17, 2027.
(IANS)
