Tripura DGP Anurag Dhankar was found dead inside his Agartala office.
Authorities suspect suicide, though the cause awaits official confirmation and post-mortem.
The 1994-batch IPS officer served in Tripura, CBI, CISF and Kosovo.
Tripura Director General of Police Anurag Dhankar was found dead inside his office at the Police Headquarters in Agartala on Monday, July 20, in a suspected case of suicide.
According to preliminary reports, the senior Indian Police Service officer was found unresponsive inside his office chamber and was taken to the Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital in Agartala.
Dr Pradip Bhowmik, a senior doctor at the hospital told India Today that Dhankar was declared dead at 12:48 pm.
The authorities have not officially confirmed the cause of death. Senior police officers reached the headquarters soon after the incident, and the area was secured as an investigation was initiated.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and other senior government officials have also visited the DGP’s office following the development.
Who Was Anurag Dhankar?
Anurag Dhankar was a 1994-batch Indian Police Service officer with extensive experience in policing, criminal investigations, intelligence and law enforcement administration.
He held a postgraduate degree in Food Technology from the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysuru and a master’s degree in Police Management from Osmania University. He also completed a postgraduate diploma in Cyber Crimes from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, and was a Certified Fraud Examiner accredited by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in the United States.
Dhankar began serving in Tripura in 1995 and held several field and administrative assignments in the state until 2003. He served as Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Longtharai Valley and as Superintendent of Police in the then-undivided West and South Tripura districts. He also worked as Superintendent of Police, Special Branch, and Assistant Inspector General of Police at the state police headquarters.
Between 2003 and 2004, Dhankar served with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. He later went on central deputation from 2005 to 2013, during which he worked as Superintendent of Police and Deputy Inspector General in the Central Bureau of Investigation.
After returning to Tripura, he served as Inspector General of Police for Law and Order from 2013 to 2016. He again joined central deputation between 2016 and 2023, holding positions including Inspector General of Research and Correctional Administration at the Bureau of Police Research and Development and Inspector General of Personnel in the Central Industrial Security Force.
Dhankar also served as Joint Director and Additional Director in the CBI. He headed the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Union Home Ministry to investigate cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
For his service, Dhankar was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service.
He returned to the Tripura cadre and assumed charge as Additional Director General of Police on September 18, 2023. He was subsequently appointed Additional Director General of Police for Law and Order from September 30, 2023.
On January 1, 2024, Dhankar was appointed Director General of Police, Intelligence, while continuing to hold the additional charge of law and order. He assumed office as the Director General of Tripura Police on May 17, 2025.
Police have begun examining the circumstances surrounding Dhankar’s death. The exact cause of death will be established after a post-mortem examination. Further information from the Tripura government and the police is awaited.
