Agartala, March 23, 2026: Tripura Chief Minister and Home Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha informed that a total of four old murder cases have been taken up for re-investigation, with varying progress achieved so far.

Replying to queries raised by Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman in the Assembly, Dr. Saha stated that out of the four cases, one has already been closed after no fresh evidence was found during re-investigation, leading to the submission and acceptance of a closure report by the court. Another case, registered at East Agartala Police Station in 2012, is currently under active investigation following a court directive issued in March 2025.

He further informed that two high-profile murder cases, related to journalists Shantanu Bhowmik and Sudip Datta Bhowmik, were handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. In both cases, the CBI has filed supplementary charge sheets, and the matters are presently sub-judice before the court of the Additional Sessions Judge, West Tripura.

Providing details, the Chief Minister said that in one of the re-investigated cases dating back to 1999, DNA samples were sent to a Hyderabad-based forensic institute, but no conclusive match was established, resulting in discontinuation of further investigation.

On a related query regarding identification of more old cases, Dr. Saha informed that five additional cases have been shortlisted to assess the feasibility of reopening investigations. These include cases dating back to 1993, 1995, 2000, 2004, and 2011, involving multiple murder incidents across different police stations in the state.

“The records of these cases are currently under detailed review to initiate further legal action,” he said. However, the Chief Minister acknowledged significant challenges in reopening such old cases, citing the passage of time, difficulty in locating credible eyewitnesses, lack of material evidence, and missing documents. Efforts are underway to reconstruct and trace necessary case records, he added.