Multiple Corruption Allegations Against Suspended IAS Officer Abhishek Chandra, ED Yet to Arrest Him Amid Tripura High Court Protection
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, November 6, 2026
A series of corruption allegations and criminal investigations involving suspended IAS officer Abhishek Chandra has triggered fresh controversy in Tripura after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at 13 locations across three states but did not announce his arrest.
The development has raised questions about the status of the investigations against the 2003-batch Tripura-cadre officer, who continues to enjoy interim legal protection from specific state-level criminal proceedings under an order passed by the Tripura High Court on September 16, 2026.
The ED’s latest action relates to an alleged Rs 14.55-crore fake government tender scam involving forged documents, fictitious government entities and suspected money laundering. The agency searched premises linked to Chandra in Maharashtra and his alleged associates in Tripura and West Bengal on November 4.
Although the searches reportedly resulted in the seizure of digital devices, financial documents and materials connected with suspected hawala transactions, the ED has not publicly announced Chandra’s arrest in this case.
The absence of an arrest following the searches has prompted questions about the progress of the investigation.
The Tripura High Court passed its interim order on September 16, 2026, in I.A. 1/2026 in W.P. (Crl.) 14/2026, filed by Abhishek Chandra against the State of Tripura. The division bench comprised Justice Dr. T Amarnath Goud and Justice S Datta Purkayastha.
After hearing Advocate N Kumar and Advocate K Roy for Chandra and Additional Public Prosecutor S Saha for the State, the court directed that notices be issued to the respondents and that service be completed expeditiously.
The court also permitted the petitioner’s counsel to serve personal notice through Registered Post with Acknowledgement Due (RPAD) or dasti service and submit proof of service.
The operative portion of the order states:
“There shall be in interim suspension on the impugned proceeding until further order.”
The order suspends the particular proceedings challenged in the petition. It is an interim measure and does not amount to a final acquittal or a determination that the allegations against Chandra are false.
The court directed that W.P. (Crl.) 14/2026 be listed alongside connected W.P. (Crl.) 11/2026. The September 16 order does not specify a fixed next hearing date.
According to the ED, the investigation originated from an FIR registered at Capital Complex Police Station in West Tripura following a complaint by Nagpur-based M/s SK Sales Corporation.
The complainant alleged that it was induced to deposit approximately Rs 14.55 crore between September 2024 and February 2025 against purported government tenders relating to the Mid-Day Meal Scheme and the power sector.
The ED’s investigation indicates that the tenders had never actually been floated by the Tripura Government.
Investigators allege that Chandra projected himself as an officer controlling government tender processes and introduced the complainant to Utpal Kumar Chowdhury, who was presented as an official responsible for processing payments.
The company reportedly deposited earnest money through demand drafts in favour of an entity called the “Directorate of Higher Education”. Investigators subsequently found that the entity was allegedly a proprietary concern belonging to Chowdhury, using a name deceptively similar to that of a genuine government department.
Forged tender notices and work orders were allegedly used to persuade the company to make payments.
The ED is also investigating the alleged use of shell entities to transfer the money and the possible involvement of other associates in collecting and routing the funds.
The ED has reportedly traced suspected proceeds of crime to properties allegedly acquired in the names of Chandra’s family members, including a residential property in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park area and apartments in a housing complex.
Investigators are also examining alleged expenditure on foreign travel and luxury goods, as well as suspected hawala transactions involving an operator based in Kolkata.
During the November 4 searches, the agency seized digital devices, electronic records and financial documents allegedly connected with the transactions.
The investigation is examining whether the funds collected through the purported tenders were routed through shell entities and subsequently used to acquire assets or meet personal expenses.
The latest tender-fraud investigation adds to earlier allegations involving Chandra and his associates.
These include alleged irregularities in government tendering, purported Mid-Day Meal contracts and financial transactions involving private entities.
The ED has also referred to a separate money-laundering investigation involving the same fictitious “Directorate of Higher Education” and an allegedly similar modus operandi. That separate case reportedly concerns alleged fraud exceeding Rs 44 crore involving multiple victims.
Separately, the West Bengal Special Task Force sought Tripura Government sanction to prosecute Chandra in an alleged NGO-related fraud and financial misappropriation case. Tripura reportedly granted the required sanction, and Chandra was placed under suspension.
The continuing legal protection in the state-level proceeding, combined with the latest ED searches and the absence of an announced arrest, has intensified public scrutiny of the officer’s case.
The September 16 High Court order protects Chandra from the specific proceeding challenged in his petition until further orders. It does not automatically bar the ED from investigating alleged money laundering under the PMLA. But ED unable to arrest him.
The unfolding case has also raised questions about administrative oversight, the alleged misuse of official identity and the safeguards needed to prevent fictitious government tenders from being used to defraud businesses.
The next significant development is expected when the High Court takes up the connected criminal writ petitions. Until then, the interim suspension remains operative, while the ED’s investigation into the alleged Rs 14.55-crore fraud continues. But ED couldn't arrest him until Tripura High Court's final decision announced.
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