Reported by Mrinal Banik

Agartala: An Indian Forest Service officer facing investigation in connection with a high-profile cash seizure case has gone missing from a forest guest house in Agartala, prompting Tripura Police to launch a search operation.

The officer, Gaurav Ravindra Wagh, was under the scanner of the Crime Branch following the recovery of a substantial amount of cash from a vehicle reportedly linked to him near Agartala Railway Station earlier this month.

The seizure triggered a formal inquiry into possible financial irregularities and misuse of his official position.

Although he had not been formally arrested, Wagh was placed under close surveillance as part of the ongoing investigation. Subsequently, he was relieved of his post as Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of South Tripura and attached to the Forest Department headquarters in Agartala pending further proceedings.

According to sources, he had been instructed to stay at a designated forest guest house while cooperating with investigators. However, on Wednesday morning, officials discovered that he was no longer present at the facility.

Notably, his mobile phone was found abandoned in the room, raising suspicions of a deliberate attempt to evade tracking.

Police officials confirmed that a manhunt has been launched to trace the officer, with multiple teams engaged in tracking his movements. Surveillance inputs and local intelligence are being utilised to locate him.

The case came to light after police detained Rajendra Chintaman Kaklij, a Mumbai-based relative of the IFS officer, at Agartala Railway Station with Rs 59.94 lakh in cash.

Following his detention, Kaklij was produced before a court, and police have sought his custodial remand to investigate the source and intended use of the seized money.

According to sources, the large sum of cash was allegedly packed under suspicious circumstances at the DFO’s official residence in South Tripura.

After the seizure, the case was handed over to the Crime Branch unit of Tripura Police. The seizure was carried out by the Government Railway Police unit posted at Agartala Railway Station.

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