Tripura Police arrest freelance scribe from West Bengal for spreading misinformation

Tripura Police has arrested Saikat Talapatra, an independent journalist, from West Bengal’s Sodepur area for allegedly spreading canards against several political personalities. A special team from Tripura Police’s crime branch detained him in the early hours today from his hideout in a rented house in the Muragachha area, near Barasat Road, New Town Kolkata, in the North 24 Parganas district.

He was flown from Kolkata to Agartala by the crime branch team this morning. The accused was later produced before a local court, where the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court sent him to Judicial Custody till October 12. The arrest comes amid allegations against him of drug smuggling, womanizing, impersonation and spreading misleading information.

Talapatra had been conducting a defamatory campaign against several political personalities, with the apparent intent of tarnishing the state’s reputation, police said. Authorities have been closely monitoring Talapatra’s activities following numerous complaints about the content shared on his Facebook page, they added.

Tripura Police’s Women’s Police Station in Agartala has also received a complaint from one Antara Choudhary who alleged she was blackmailed and compelled to give Rs 1 lakh as extortion money. Meanwhile, he was constantly blackmailing police officials through his page in lieu of smoothly running his drug business in the state.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the page disseminated unverified news and potentially manipulated information, raising concerns about its credibility. Also, the police are investigating his drug network in the state.

Saikat is also accused of blackmailing women and other individuals in Tripura, as well as being involved in alleged antisocial activities to earn money. He blackmailed women in the state for his personal benefits, they said