Tripura DGP Anurag death probe: Inquiry team expanded to 10 members
Synopsis
Tripura's top cop was found dead in his own office washroom on 20 July — and the investigation is far from settled. The probe team has been tripled in size to ten members, with daily briefings and weekly reports mandated. Opposition parties, including Congress and the Left, are calling it a murder and demanding a High Court-monitored judicial inquiry, putting the Manik Saha government under growing pressure.
Key Takeaways
Tripura DGP Anurag , a 1994-batch IPS officer, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his office washroom at Tripura Police Headquarters, Agartala , on 20 July .
The state police expanded the inquiry team from 3 to 10 members on 27 July , led by SP West Tripura Namit Pathak .
The team is mandated to hold daily morning and evening briefings and submit weekly reports to the Inspector General of Police, Law and Order .
Congress leader Sudip Roy Barman and opposition parties including CPI-M and CPI have demanded a Tripura High Court-monitored judicial inquiry .
Anurag had assumed charge as DGP on 17 May 2025 ; his tenure was scheduled to run until 17 May 2027 .
He was cremated with full state honours on 22 July at Baraut, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh .
The investigation into the mysterious death of Tripura Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag, a 1994-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been significantly scaled up, with the state police authority expanding the inquiry team from three to ten members to accelerate the high-profile case, officials confirmed on Monday, 27 July. Anurag's body was discovered under unexplained circumstances in the washroom adjoining his official chamber at the Tripura Police Headquarters, Agartala, on 20 July.
How the Investigation Team Was Reconstituted
The acting Director General of Police had initially constituted a three-member probe team on 24 July, led by West Tripura Superintendent of Police Namit Pathak. That team has now been expanded to ten members under Pathak's continued leadership.
The reconstituted team includes Additional Superintendent of Police (Urban), West Tripura, Dhruba Nath, as well as Officers-in-Charge of the Cyber Crime Police Station, Amtali Police Station, West Agartala Women Police Station, and the Battala and Ramnagar Outposts. An Inspector from the KTD Singh Police Training Academy and the previous Investigating Officer, Subhojit Deb, are also part of the reconstituted team, according to officials.
Structured Protocol for the Probe
An official order mandates that the reconstituted team operate in a coordinated manner, maintaining confidentiality, professionalism, and impartiality throughout the investigation. A daily morning briefing will review progress, assign tasks, and formulate investigative strategy, while a daily evening debriefing will assess outcomes and identify gaps.
All officers are required to submit a daily progress report — covering evidence collected, technical analysis, and proposed further action — to SP West Tripura for close monitoring. A weekly consolidated report is to be submitted every Saturday to the Inspector General of Police, Law and Order.
Opposition Demands Judicial Inquiry
Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former Tripura Minister Sudip Roy Barman on Sunday reiterated his party's demand for a judicial inquiry monitored by a sitting judge of the Tripura High Court. '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,' Roy Barman said.
Roy Barman went further, asserting: '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 Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (CPI), and several other political parties have similarly demanded a High Court-monitored judicial inquiry. Both the Left parties and the Congress had earlier organised separate protest rallies in Tripura pressing for such an investigation.
A Decorated Officer's Career and Final Rites
DGP Anurag had assumed charge as Tripura's police chief on 17 May 2025, succeeding Amitabh Ranjan, a 1988-batch IPS officer. His tenure was scheduled to continue until 17 May 2027. Prior to this posting, he served as Director General of Police, Intelligence.
Over a distinguished career, Anurag served with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and held key positions in central agencies, including as Joint Director and Additional Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as well as postings in the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Notably, he also led the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Anurag was cremated with full state honours on 22 July at his ancestral town of Baraut in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district. 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.
With the probe team now at full strength and structured reporting protocols in place, the direction and pace of the investigation in the coming days will be closely watched by political parties, civil society, and the police fraternity alike.
Point of View
CBI, and ultimately Tripura's top cop — made him a figure of considerable institutional weight. The manner of his death, and the pace at which answers emerge, will test whether Tripura's law-enforcement machinery can credibly investigate itself.
NationPress
27 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Tripura DGP Anurag die?
Anurag's body was found under mysterious circumstances in the washroom attached to his official chamber at the Tripura Police Headquarters in Agartala on 20 July. The exact cause of death is under active investigation and has not been officially confirmed.
Why has the inquiry team been expanded to 10 members?
The acting Director General of Police expanded the team from three to ten members to expedite the high-profile investigation. The reconstituted team, led by SP West Tripura Namit Pathak, includes cyber crime specialists, station officers-in-charge, a training academy inspector, and the previous investigating officer.
Why are opposition parties demanding a judicial inquiry?
Congress and Left parties argue that a police-led probe into the death of the state's own police chief lacks independence. Congress leader Sudip Roy Barman has alleged it could be a case of murder and called for an inquiry monitored by a sitting judge of the Tripura High Court to ensure impartiality.
Who was DGP Anurag and what was his career background?
Anurag was a 1994-batch IPS officer of the Tripura cadre who took charge as the state's DGP on 17 May 2025. He had a distinguished career spanning postings with the UN Mission in Kosovo, the CBI (as Joint Director and Additional Director), BPR&D, and CISF, and he led the SIT on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
What happens next in the Tripura DGP death investigation?
The ten-member team is now required to submit daily progress reports to SP West Tripura and weekly consolidated reports every Saturday to the Inspector General of Police, Law and Order. Political pressure for a High Court-monitored judicial inquiry continues to mount, and the state government's response to that demand is expected to be a key development.
