Noted advocate Sankar Lodh said the available facts in Tripura DGP Anurag Dhankar’s death do not establish the legal ingredients for abetment to suicide. He urged waiting for the ongoing police investigation before drawing conclusions, noting no FIR has yet been registered.
Noted advocate Sankar Lodh on Tuesday stated that the facts currently available in connection with the death of Tripura Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Dhankar do not satisfy the legal requirements necessary to invoke charges of abetment to suicide. Stressing the importance of allowing the ongoing investigation to proceed without speculation, Lodh observed that no complaint alleging abetment has so far been lodged by the deceased officer’s family.
Addressing media persons, Lodh explained that criminal law lays down specific legal ingredients for establishing the offence of abetment to suicide. According to him, merely because a person dies by suicide does not automatically make another individual liable for abetment.
He said that for such a charge to stand, there must be clear evidence of instigation, active involvement, and the presence of mens rea—the guilty intention or knowledge that one’s actions were likely to drive the victim to take the extreme step.
“A simple suicide can never be treated as abetment to suicide. To invoke such a charge, there has to be suicide, and there must also be mens rea. The accused must have prior knowledge that his acts would lead to the victim committing suicide, and there has to be instigation,” Lodh said.
Referring to the ongoing investigation into the death of DGP Anurag Dhankar, Lodh pointed out that the police have registered an Unnatural Death (UD) case and are continuing their probe. He clarified that, as of now, no First Information Report (FIR) alleging abetment to suicide has been filed.
The senior advocate further stated that if there had been evidence suggesting someone had instigated the DGP to end his life, the deceased officer’s immediate family members, including his wife or son, could have lodged a police complaint. He also highlighted that under the new criminal laws, a Zero FIR can be registered from anywhere in the country, irrespective of the place where the incident occurred.
“So far, no such complaint has been filed,” he remarked.
Lodh also provided details about the progress of the investigation. He said the inquiry initially commenced under the supervision of a sub-inspector before being expanded to include senior police officials. The investigation team now includes the West Tripura Superintendent of Police and an Additional Superintendent of Police, while a dedicated 10-member team has been constituted to examine every aspect of the case.
He maintained that the findings of the UD investigation should be awaited before arriving at any legal conclusion. If investigators uncover evidence pointing towards murder or abetment to suicide during the course of the probe, an FIR can subsequently be registered under the relevant provisions of law.
To support his legal argument, Lodh referred to two recent suicide-related cases in Tripura where the High Court reportedly found that the essential ingredients required to establish abetment to suicide were absent while hearing bail applications.
One of the cases involved a delivery worker in Dharmanagar who allegedly died by suicide after being publicly assaulted, while the other concerned a BJP Yuva Morcha leader. In both matters, persons accused of abetment were granted legal relief after the court observed that the necessary legal elements to sustain such charges had not been sufficiently established.
Commenting on the Opposition’s demand for an inquiry by a sitting judge of the Tripura High Court into the DGP’s death, Lodh said there was “nothing wrong” with seeking such an investigation. However, he insisted that the police investigation already underway should first be allowed to reach its logical conclusion.
“The police will submit its report before the magistrate after completing the investigation. If there are deficiencies in the report, those can be pointed out at that stage. Raising questions on the investigation from the very first day is not convincing,” he said.
Tripura Police are investigating the death of DGP Anurag Dhankar, who was found hanging inside the washroom of his official chamber on July 20. A special investigation team headed by senior police officers is examining the circumstances surrounding the incident.
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Meanwhile, the Opposition CPI(M) and Congress have continued to demand an inquiry by a sitting High Court judge to ensure transparency in the investigation. The state government, however, has maintained that the probe is being conducted strictly in accordance with the law and that all aspects of the case are being examined comprehensively before any conclusions are drawn.
