Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Saturday appealed to political parties to refrain from politicizing the unnatural death of Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Dhankar, stating that the government has already initiated a lawful investigation by constituting a high-level inquiry team.
Addressing reporters, Saha said the investigation is being conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures and urged all stakeholders to allow the probe to proceed without political interference.
"The government has already announced that the investigation into Dhankar's unnatural death will be carried out as per the law. A high-level team has been formed for this purpose. It would not be appropriate to politicize the matter," the chief minister said.
The investigation is being carried out by a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by West Tripura Superintendent of Police Namit Pathak. The team was constituted by DGP (in-charge) G.S. Rao following Dhankar's death.
Dhankar, a senior IPS officer who had previously supervised the CBI investigation into the alleged ₹13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud involving fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and also handled the reinvestigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, was found hanging in the washroom attached to his office chamber at the Tripura Police Headquarters in Agartala on July 20.
Meanwhile, the opposition CPI(M) renewed its demand for a judicial inquiry into the incident, insisting that the probe should be conducted under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Tripura High Court.
Former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said an independent judicial investigation was essential considering that the deceased was the state's highest-ranking police officer.
"We continue to demand a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court of Tripura. An impartial investigation is necessary to ascertain the circumstances leading to the incident and identify those responsible, if any," Sarkar said.
Recalling his association with Dhankar, Sarkar described him as a committed and professional police officer who had served Tripura in several important positions during his tenure as chief minister.
"He was a sincere IPS officer who carried out his responsibilities with dedication. It is difficult to believe that such an experienced officer was found dead under these circumstances at the police headquarters. The government must ensure that every doubt surrounding the incident is addressed through a credible investigation," Sarkar added.