Tripura DGP forms team to probe death of former police chief

Tripura Director General of Police (DGP) on Friday constituted a three‑member team to probe the “mysterious” death of former Director General of Police Anurag, whose body was found at the state police headquarters here on July 20, officials said.

An order issued by the office of the DGP said that Superintendent of Police (West Tripura) Namit Pathak would head the probe team. Additional Superintendent of Police (Urban), West Tripura, Dhruba Nath, and Sub‑Inspector Subhojit Deb, who is currently investigating the “Unnatural Death” case, are the other two members of the team.

The order stated that in case of necessity, the SP (West) may co‑opt any other officer from the Tripura Police Crime Branch or any other unit, as deemed appropriate. For technical support, the SP (West) may seek assistance from the Cyber Crime Unit of the Tripura Police Crime Branch. Progress reports in connection with the investigation shall be submitted weekly to the Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), Tripura, for the perusal of the DGP.

Anurag’s body was found under mysterious circumstances in the washroom attached to his official chamber at the State Police Headquarters in Agartala on July 20.

He was cremated with full state honours at his ancestral town of Baraut in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district on Wednesday (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.

Before the cremation, the Uttar Pradesh Police accorded a ceremonial guard of honour to Anurag, a 1994‑batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Tripura cadre, in recognition of his distinguished service.

Tripura Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu, Chief Minister Manik Saha, several state ministers, Chief Secretary Jitendra Kumar Sinha, Home Secretary Abhishek Singh, acting DGP G.S. Rao, and many senior civil, police and security officials paid their last respects to Anurag in Agartala on Tuesday (July 21).

The opposition CPI (M), CPI, Congress and several other political parties have demanded a judicial inquiry, monitored by a sitting judge of the Tripura High Court, to ascertain 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 demanding a judicial probe into the incident.

Anurag took charge as Tripura’s DGP on May 17, 2025, succeeding Amitabh Ranjan, a 1988‑batch IPS officer. Before assuming charge, he served as Director General of Police (Intelligence), Tripura.