‘Terms like ‘Chinese’, ‘chinkis’ hurt us’, says TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Debbarma as trial begins in racial slur case

“It is not about our students suffering elsewhere. Even within the Northeast, sometimes we are targeted and called ‘Chinese’, ‘chinkis’, ‘Chinese ka dalal’. It hurts our sentiments,” the TIPRA Motha founder said, while refusing to comment more on the issue as the matter is sub-judice.

The case was filed following a social media post made by one Saikat Talapatra on July 17, 2023, in which he purportedly referred to Debbarma and the indigenous population of Tripura as “Chinese”. Debbarma filed a complaint against Talapatra on October 14, 2023.

Special Public Prosecutor Raju Datta told the media that the social media post damaged the reputation of both the indigenous population and the Tripura royal family. “The chargesheet was filed after a police investigation. The trial started on Thursday and (Debbarma) appeared as the first witness,” Datta said.

Talapatra, who is wanted in several cases, was arrested on a non-bailable warrant from West Bengal’s Sodepur area and brought to Tripura in 2023. After working with NE Bangla and Radio Oolala, he had a brief stint as an independent journalist during which he was associated with the news portal Independent.

In 2020, the West Agartala police charged him under section 341 (wrongful restraint), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and under the Arms Act, the police said. On November 8, 2021, the court granted him pre-arrest bail following which Talapatra fled the state.