Most wanted and fugitive, a journalist from Tripura, who is running a social media channel ‘Independent’, Saikat Talapatra has been arrested from Sodepur area of West Bengal on Friday morning by a special cell of Tripura police and within few hours, he has been produced before courts for four separate cases.

Arrested Saikat Talapatra has been accused on charges of maligning Chief Minister Manik Saha, his family members and many other politicians through his online channels, police said.

A police official said that a team of Tripura police crime branch arrested Talapatra from a rented house at Muragachha area of Sodepur on Thursday midnight and brought him to Agartala by flight on Friday morning.  There are several cases filed against Talapatra in many police stations in Tripura.

Agartala police on Friday afternoon produced him before court for four separate cases, who has been arrested under non-bailable warrant issued against him for violating the directives of the court, which has been filed at West Agartala police station.

Saikat has been produced before separate courts of Agartala including Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of West Tripura district and courts after hearing the cases during submission of arguments by prosecution team and defense team appointed by the court from State Legal Cell authority has send him in jail custody upto October 9th next and in another case, court has also send him to jail custody upto October 12 and has also allowed the Investigating Officer (IO) to interrogate him inside jail. The court has also sanctioned bail in a separate case and has also rejected the arrest memo sought by IO for a separate case registered at Radhapur police station.

Giving details of the cases, public prosecutor (PP) advocate Biswajit Deb said that  the IO under case number 185/2021 before the court of Special Judge has appealed for 14-days police remand to interrogate the arrested accused, but court after hearing sent him to jail custody upto October 9th.

In another case number- 115/2021 registered at West Agartala police station under section 124(A), 504,500, 120(B) of IPC has send the accused Saikat Talapatra into jail custody upto October 12 next and has also allowed the IO to interrogate him inside jail.

The court of the special judge has also fixed October 9th for hearing on a police petition for 14 days of police custody to interrogate him.

Through his YouTube and Facebook channels during the past few years  Talapatra  also maligned Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and his family members,  former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Tipra-Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, Congress leader Sudip Roy Barman and many other politicians.

Tipra-Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma after his arrest through social media posts said “The man who in the name of journalism abused my mother character, accused me of various things today has been arrested. I have never indulged in personal mudslinging but to speak about our community ( tiprasa) and our womenfolk in the name of free speech is shameful . Let's see who defends this man because even those who will defend him in the name of justice will be exposed today. Tipra and tiprasa are waiting if justice will be delivered or denied to us.”

Earlier, in the year 2021 last, Saikat after getting a bail from a court in one of the cases, he went to Kolkata and did not cooperate with the investigating officer of the police and did not make his presence before the IO for weekly appearances, forcing the court to issue a non-bailable warrant against him last year.

Tripura police teams on a number of occasions since 2021 went to Kolkata to arrest him but Talapatra was absconding and he continued to slander the state politicians on a regular basis.

Talapatra, who had once been a full time teacher of the Tripura government but lost his job for dereliction in duties, also worked as a key anchor of a local television channel and as radio jockey (RJ) in a FM channel before 2020.