Tripura Assembly Erupts Again Over Probe Into Ex-DGP Anurag Dhankar’s Death

The Tripura Legislative Assembly witnessed fresh uproar on Friday as opposition parties renewed their demand for an independent and impartial investigation into the unnatural death of former Director General of Police Anurag Dhankar.

The disruption began at the start of the second day of the ongoing Monsoon Session, a day after Chief Minister Manik Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, made a statement in the House regarding the circumstances surrounding the former police chief's death.

In his statement on August 27, Saha outlined the developments in the case and said Dhankar was found hanging inside the washroom attached to his office chamber at the Police Headquarters. An unnatural death case was subsequently registered and an investigation was launched.

The Chief Minister told the Assembly that the post-mortem report recorded death due to hanging and described it as suicidal in nature, while the investigation into the case remained underway. He said forensic evidence, electronic records, bank transactions and other documents were being examined, adding that the government would rely on evidence rather than assumptions or speculation to establish the truth.

However, opposition members strongly objected to the reference to the death as “suicidal in nature”, arguing that such a conclusion appeared premature while the investigation and forensic examinations were still continuing.

Soon after Friday's proceedings began, CPI(M) legislators entered the Well of the House and staged a protest, demanding a transparent probe that would inspire public confidence. They called for an independent inquiry committee headed by a sitting or retired judge of the Tripura High Court to investigate the circumstances surrounding Dhankar's death.

Congress MLA and senior leader Sudip Roy Barman also objected to a specific portion of the Chief Minister's statement made on Thursday and demanded that it be expunged from the Assembly record.

The repeated protests have kept the issue at the centre of political tensions in the state, with the Opposition questioning the transparency and impartiality of the ongoing investigation. Following Dhankar's death, the Tripura government appointed GS Rao, Additional Director General of Police (Armed Police), as the in-charge DGP until further orders.

The government has maintained that the investigation will be thorough and impartial, while opposition parties continue to insist that only an independent, judicially led inquiry can establish the full circumstances surrounding the former DGP's death and restore public confidence.