FIR, independent Crime Branch probe ordered into allegations of gold missing after Tripura police took vehicle to tea garden

On 21 February 2026, the petitioner and his two brothers were travelling towards Agartala in a vehicle carrying gold ornaments and gold bars allegedly intended for sale to fund medical treatment. They were intercepted near Bishalgarh College by Sub-Inspector Banijoy Reang and other police personnel, taken first to a tea garden and thereafter to Bishalgarh Police Station. The vehicle key was allegedly retained by the police. After the petitioner and his brothers were permitted to leave that evening, they allegedly discovered that gold ornaments and gold bars were missing from the vehicle and subsequently received threats from police personnel

The petitioner alleged that Sonamura Police Station refused to register his complaint on 26 February 2026. He thereafter approached the Superintendent of Police by letter dated 28 February 2026, but no FIR was registered

The matter was initially instituted as W.P.(C) No. 183 of 2026 and was converted into a criminal writ petition because the allegations concerned criminal conduct and the matter was required to be heard by a Division Bench

The State contended that procedural irregularities had occurred in taking the vehicle to the tea garden and that Sub-Inspector Banijoy Reang had been suspended. It further maintained that CCTV footage did not establish theft or removal of the gold

The police officers disputed the allegations and asserted that the vehicle had been intercepted on the basis of source information concerning suspected illegal items

Whether the petitioner’s written complaint, which disclosed alleged cognizable offences involving police personnel, was required to be registered as an FIR under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).

Whether the allegations warranted an independent investigation by a senior officer of the Crime Branch rather than investigation by the concerned police station.

Whether questions concerning the petitioner’s ownership of the gold and the truth of the alleged misappropriation could be rejected at the stage preceding registration and investigation of the complaint.

The Court applied Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which imposes a statutory obligation upon the police to register information disclosing a cognizable offence and proceed with investigation in accordance with law

Where a complaint specifically alleges cognizable offences, disputed questions concerning ownership, documentary proof, and the veracity of the allegations are matters for investigation and cannot ordinarily be conclusively determined before registration of the FIR

The Court further applied the principle that allegations of criminal misconduct against police personnel require an impartial and independent investigation, particularly where the conduct of the local police itself is in question

The Court found that the admitted interception of the vehicle and its removal to an isolated tea garden, despite the nearby availability of Bishalgarh Police Station, raised serious concerns

The petitioner’s complaint disclosed allegations of misappropriation, theft, threats, and abuse of police authority, thereby attracting the statutory obligation under Section 173 BNSS to register the complaint and conduct an impartial investigation

The Court rejected the respondents’ reliance on the absence of receipts or proof of lawful ownership at this preliminary stage, holding that those matters, along with whether the gold was actually removed and by whom, could be determined only through a thorough investigation

Given that the allegations implicated local police personnel, the Court considered investigation by a senior Crime Branch officer necessary to ensure independence and fairness

The respondent authorities were directed to ensure registration of the petitioner’s written complaint.

The State was further directed to appoint a Senior Officer of the Crime Branch to examine and investigate the matter, and to transfer the entire relevant record to that officer for an independent, fair, and expeditious investigation in accordance with law

Any interim stay was vacated and pending applications, if any, were closed