Freelance journalist arrested for hand in fake news on Tripura CM’s divorce

Prashanta Bhattacharya, editor of Channel Hallabol, alleged an “Emergency-like situation is prevailing in Tripura” and “anyone criticising the incumbent BJP-IPFT government is being put behind bars”.

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Saikat Talapatra was arrested at the West Agartala Police Station after he was found to be connected to Anupam Paul, who was already been booked for forgery, criminal conspiracy and a bid to defame the chief minister.

A freelance journalist was arrested late Sunday evening in connection with a fake news campaign suggesting Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb was headed for divorce. Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Subrata Chakraborty told indianexpress.com that Saikat Talapatra was arrested at the West Agartala Police Station after he was found to be connected to Anupam Paul, who was already been booked for forgery, criminal conspiracy and a bid to defame the chief minister.

“We have arrested Saikat Talapatra for involvement in a case of defaming the Chief Minister. He is currently being interrogated and would be produced before a local court tomorrow”, the official said. Talapatra served as a journalist for several years till 2018, after which he reportedly worked on freelance basis. Saikat was last engaged for conducting a special interview on Hallabol, a local cable TV channel.

Prashanta Bhattacharya, editor of Channel Hallabol, alleged an “Emergency-like situation is prevailing in Tripura” and “anyone criticising the incumbent BJP-IPFT government is being put behind bars”. “Journalists and media are under tremendous pressure,” he said.

On Thursday, a document purportedly about divorce suit filed against Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb by his wife went viral on social media. Soon, the CM’s wife came out terming it a ‘dirty rumour’ spread for earning brownie points in politics. An FIR was filed against Anupam Paul for allegedly spreading the rumour on social media, but he is yet to be arrested.

Earlier this afternoon, Tripura Police constable Jamal Hussein was arrested for sharing a Facebook post claiming the CM’s wife Niti Deb had filed for divorce. Hussein used to serve as Personal Guard of Islam Uddin, MLA of Kadamtala Kurti Assembly constituency in North Tripura district.

“The arrested constable uploaded something objectionable on his Facebook account. A case was registered against him and he was arrested,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Puneet Rastogi told indianexpress.com this afternoon, adding that the objectionable content was related to the Chief Minister.