Eight Police Personnel, Including Two OCs, Suspended in Agartala East PS Custodial Torture and AMC Bribery Case, High Court Tightens Oversight
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, June 24, 2026
In a major development in the alleged custodial torture and bribery case linked to Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), the Tripura Government has suspended eight police personnel, including the Officers-in-Charge (OCs) of East Agartala Police Station and East Agartala Women Police Station, following strong observations by the Tripura High Court.
The action comes amid increasing judicial scrutiny over allegations that a Banamalipur resident and his family were subjected to assault and custodial physical and mental abuse after refusing to pay an alleged two lakh bribe demanded in connection with a constructionrelated dispute.
According to senior advocate Purushottam Roy Barman, who is representing the victims, Home Secretary Abhishek Singh, IAS informed the High Court through a fresh affidavit that East Agartala Police Station OC Subrata Debnath, East Agartala Women Police Station OC Shakuntala Debnath, SI Saikat De, ASI Anand Debbarma, Constables Suman Acharya and Mithun Rudrapal, and SPOs Ripul Debnath and Shubhankar Dhar have been placed under suspension.
In addition, arrested SPO Joy Debnath and Agartala Municipal Corporation's temporary task force employee Rabindra Narayan Ghosh have been dismissed from service. Both accused are currently in judicial custody.
The Home Department has also withdrawn all previous affidavits submitted before the High Court in connection with the case. Furthermore, a show-cause notice has been issued against Home Department Under Secretary Samarendra Debbarma after the court questioned why departmental proceedings should not be initiated against him for allegedly filing a misleading affidavit before the court.
The case is presently being heard by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit. The court has made it clear that the investigation will continue under its direct observation.
The controversy originated from a complaint filed by Ratna Roy of Banamalipur. According to court records, work on her under-construction house was allegedly halted through an oral directive from the Agartala Municipal Corporation. Subsequently, AMC Task Force worker Rabindra Narayan Ghosh allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs.2 lakh from her son.
When the demand was allegedly not met, a group led by Ghosh and police personnel reportedly raided the family's residence on the night of April 4. Ratna Roy's son, Saikat Saha, was allegedly assaulted, forcibly taken to East Agartala Police Station, and subjected to custodial sexual torture. Ratna Roy and her husband were also allegedly assaulted during the incident.
Despite repeated complaints, including representations to senior police officials, no FIR was initially registered. It was only after Ratna Roy approached the High Court through a writ petition and the court issued notice on May 5 that police registered an FIR.
The High Court subsequently observed that Saikat Saha's detention was illegal, prompting disciplinary action against one of the accused officers.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the High Court conducted a preliminary inquiry and reportedly found evidence supporting the allegation that custodial sexual abuse had occurred inside East Agartala Police Station.
The findings sharply contradicted an affidavit submitted by the Home Department on May 11, which had categorically denied that any such incident took place inside the police station.
Based on the SIT report, the High Court described the earlier affidavit as false and misleading. The court rejected the affidavit and directed the Home Secretary to submit a fresh one. It also sought action against the official responsible for filing the disputed affidavit.
In the latest affidavit, the Home Secretary informed the court that a show-cause notice has already been served on Under Secretary Samarendra Debbarma regarding the submission of the allegedly misleading affidavit.
The case has emerged as one of the most significant allegations of custodial abuse and administrative misconduct in Tripura in recent years, with the High Court continuing to closely monitor both the investigation and the disciplinary proceedings against the accused officials.
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