Tripura Director General of Police (DGP) GS Rao on Friday constituted a three-member investigation team to probe the mysterious death of former Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Dhankar, whose body was found at the police headquarters in Agartala on July 20.
According to an order issued by the DGP's office, Superintendent of Police (West Tripura) Namit Pathak will lead the investigation. Additional Superintendent of Police (Urban), West Tripura, Dhruba Nath, and Sub-Inspector Subhojit Deb, who is currently investigating the Unnatural Death (UD) case, have been appointed as members of the team.
The order empowers the SP (West) to co-opt any officer from the Tripura Police Crime Branch or any other police unit if required. It also authorizes the team to seek technical assistance from the Cyber Crime Unit of the Crime Branch. The probe team has been directed to submit weekly progress reports to the Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) for onward submission to the DGP.
It may be recalled here that Anurag's body was recovered under mysterious circumstances inside the washroom attached to his official chamber at the Police Headquarters on July 20, triggering widespread speculation and demands for an impartial investigation.
The former police chief was cremated with full state honours at his ancestral town of Baraut in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district on July 23. His son, Abhishek, performed the last rites in the presence of family members, senior police officials and hundreds of mourners. Prior to the cremation, the Uttar Pradesh Police accorded him a ceremonial guard of honour in recognition of his distinguished service.
Earlier, on July 21, Tripura Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, several ministers, Chief Secretary Jitendra Kumar Sinha, Home Secretary Abhishek Singh, in-charge DGP GS Rao, and senior civil, police and security officials paid their last respects to the 1994-batch IPS officer of the Tripura cadre in Agartala.
Meanwhile, opposition parties, including the CPI(M), CPI and Congress, have intensified their demand for a judicial inquiry monitored by a sitting judge of the High Court of Tripura to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the death of the state's senior-most IPS officer. The Left parties and the Congress have also organized separate protest rallies across the state demanding a judicial probe.
Anurag assumed charge as Tripura's Director General of Police on May 17, 2025, succeeding Amitabh Ranjan. Before becoming the state's police chief, he served as Director General of Police (Intelligence), Tripura.