In a significant administrative move, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Tuesday approved the empanelment of 35 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers from the 1993 and 1994 batches for appointments to Director General (DG) or DG-equivalent positions in the Government of India, which includes the Director General of Tripura, Anurag Dhankar and his counterpart in Manipur Police Rajiv Singh.

Official sources said that this empanelment represents a crucial elevation for several seasoned officers, many of whom are already serving in top positions across central and state policing bodies.

The list includes a diverse and regionally representative mix of officers from various cadres including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, AGMUT, Punjab, and others. The empanelled officers are now eligible for central appointments in key security and administrative roles.

A senior police official said that Anurag, an IPS officer of the 1994 batch Tripura cadre has so far served Tripura in different tenures for around 16 years, and he has vast knowledge in policing in the state. Before his appointment as DGP, Anurag was the Tripura DGP (Intelligence). He served as Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Longtharai Valley, and District Superintendent of Police of undivided West and South Tripura districts, apart from serving as Superintendent of Police of  Special Branch (SB) and Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) (Headquarters).

During 2003-04, Anurag also served in the UN Mission in Kosovo, and from 2005 to 2013, he was on central deputation and served as Superintendent of Police and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

On return from central deputation, he served as Tripura Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) from 2013 to 2016. During 2016 to 2023, the IPS officer again went on central deputation and served as Inspector General (IG), Research and Correctional Administration, Bureau of Police Research and Development and Inspector General (Personnel) in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), besides Joint Director and Additional Director in the CBI.

Anurag also served as the Special Investigation Team Chairman (1984 anti-Sikh riots) under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. He has been conferred with the police medal for meritorious service and the President's police medal for distinguished service.

On September 18, 2023, Anurag assumed the charge of Tripura Additional Director General of Police and was subsequently posted as Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order). He was promoted and posted as the Director General of Police (Intelligence) with the additional charge of Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) with effect from January 2024. The Tripura government, on May 17, 2025, appointed Anurag as the state's DGP, replacing Amitabh Ranjan.

Rajiv Singh, a Tripura cadre 1993 batch IPS officer, was appointed as Manipur Police chief, replacing P Doungel, one month after the ethnic violence broke out in the Northeastern state in May 2023. Singh was earlier the Additional Director General (ADG) of Tripura Police before joining a central posting as Inspector General (IG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and then moved to Manipur.