By Firstdespatch Desk Jul 25, 2026
Agartala, July 25 (FD) Former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Saturday called for an impartial inquiry into the death of Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Dhankar, urging that the investigation be conducted under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Tripura High Court.
"Our demand has been that the inquiry be conducted under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Tripura High Court. Anurag's unnatural death is truly shocking for us," he said.
Recalling his long association with Dhankar, Sarkar said he had worked with the IPS officer during his two decades as Chief Minister.
According to Sarkar, Dhankar served in several important positions, rising from Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) to Inspector General (Law and Order) before eventually becoming the state's Director General of Police after the Left Front government left office.
Sarkar alleged that Tripura's law and order situation had deteriorated over the past eight to ten months, placing the police under growing public pressure. He claimed that, as DGP, Dhankar had attempted to play a proactive role in addressing the situation and suggested that this may have resulted in differences of opinion with the state's top political leadership.
"With this background, his unnatural death cannot be viewed in separation. An unbiased probe is essential to ascertain the actual circumstances surrounding his death and to ensure that appropriate action is taken against anyone found responsible," Sarkar said.
Questioning the state government's decision to constitute an inquiry committee headed by the Superintendent of Police of West Tripura district, Sarkar said that while the government was empowered to form such a committee, he believed it was inadequate to investigate the death of the state's highest-ranking police officer.
Referring to demands from what he described as "various quarters" for judicial oversight of the investigation, Sarkar alleged that the government's decision not to order a High Court-monitored probe was giving rise to public suspicion.
"Lot of eyebrows have been raised from various quarters about the need for an inquiry under the supervision of a sitting High Court judge. When this government ignores this demand, then it becomes a suspicion," he said.
The state government has not publicly responded to Sarkar's remarks. It had earlier constituted an inquiry committee headed by the West Tripura Superintendent of Police to investigate the circumstances surrounding Dhankar's death. FD JK