ED Seizes Assets in Tripura Fraud and Betting Probes

Agartala: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has moved against two separate criminal networks in Tripura. The agency issued provisional attachment orders on July 31, 2026, targeting assets worth more than Rs 2.17 crore. These actions follow investigations into an elaborate government impersonation scheme and a sprawling illegal cricket betting syndicate.

In the first case, the Agartala Sub-Zonal Office attached Rs 1.12 crore in bank balances. The money is linked to shell entities controlled by suspended Tripura cadre IAS officer Abhishek Chandra, Utpal Kumar Chowdhury, and a private housing firm. The ED investigation stems from multiple FIRs alleging cheating, forgery, and criminal breach of trust. Investigators claim Chowdhury pretended to be a senior official of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. He allegedly created fake identity cards and firms with names mirroring real departments like the Directorate of Higher Education, Tripura, and Bridge and Roof Co. He even seized control of a registered trust, Chaltakhali Swamiji Seva Sangha, to dupe businessmen into chasing fake government tenders and rubber trade profits.

The ED detailed the involvement of the suspended IAS officer. "Investigation has further revealed that Abhishek Chandra, IAS, an officer of the Tripura cadre presently under suspension, received Proceeds of Crime generated by Utpal Kumar Chowdhury and his associates, both directly into his personal bank accounts and indirectly through payments made by scheme entities to a private housing company towards booking of a flat in his name." Chandra faces a separate FIR from July 1 involving an alleged Rs 14.55 crore fraud. Including this latest order, the total value of assets attached in the fraud case across two orders has reached roughly Rs 1.63 crore.

Simultaneously, the ED tightened its grip on an illegal IPL betting ring. Agents attached nine immovable properties and various bank accounts worth Rs 1.05 crore. This probe traces back to a May 11, 2023, raid by Amtali Police at the home of Prasenjit Paul. Police found Rs 93 lakh in cash, a laptop, mobile phones, four debit cards, and 17 notebooks full of betting records. The agency alleges Prasenjit Paul ran an organized syndicate with his maternal uncle, Laxman Paul. According to the ED, the duo laundered illegal profits through Laxman Paul and his wife, Jhuma Dey Paul. Neither possessed a legitimate source of income. Authorities identified the newly seized assets as agricultural and residential plots in West Tripura and a property in Kolkata. These were bought largely with cash. With this second attachment, the total value of seized assets in the betting case now stands at Rs 2.43 crore.