IAS officer among those named in Rs 14.55 crore Tripura tender fraud FIR

An FIR has been registered at the New Capital Complex Police Station in Agartala alleging a multi-crore financial fraud linked to purported government tenders in Tripura, with an IAS officer and several others named in the complaint.

The complaint, filed on July 1 by a representative of a Nagpur-based business firm, accuses IAS officer Abhishek Chandra, along with Utpal Chandra, Sudip Pal and Krishna Chakraborty, of allegedly inducing the company to invest large sums of money on the promise of securing government supply contracts issued by Tripura's Directorate of Higher Education.

According to the FIR, the accused allegedly claimed to have links with senior government officials and authority over the tender process. Based on these assurances, the firm entered into a joint venture agreement in September 2024 to participate in the purported contracts.

The complainant alleged that between September 2024 and February 2025, the company transferred around Rs 14.55 crore towards earnest money deposits and other payments, believing they were part of genuine government procurement. The FIR further states that work orders, supporting documents and WhatsApp communications were allegedly used to convince the firm that the contracts were authentic.

The complaint also claims that the firm later received certain payments, described as refunds or profit-sharing, which further reinforced its belief that the transactions were legitimate.

However, after conducting its own verification in April 2025, the company allegedly found that the Directorate of Higher Education had not issued the tenders in question. It further alleged that the documents and assurances provided were fabricated and that the accused later became unreachable. The complaint also alleges that one individual associated with processing payments had previously been misrepresented regarding his whereabouts.

The complainant has sought a detailed police investigation into alleged offences including cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery and criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and other applicable laws.

The allegations are currently at the preliminary stage and remain subject to verification during the police investigation.