Pratibadi Kalam Editor Heckled, Media Fraternity Condemns, CM Orders Probe
Agartala Feb 10: Once again, media has come under attack in Tripura as Anal Roy Chowdhury, editor of the newspaper Pratibadi Kalam and his advocate were allegedly harassed and intimidated by a group of individuals inside the Udaipur court complex on Tuesday.
The incident triggered strong condemnation from journalists’ organisations across the state.
Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha reacted sharply to the incident and instructed the police to launch an investigation and initiate legal proceedings against those responsible.
In a post shared on social media, the Chief Minister stated that he had been informed about the harassment of the Pratibadi Kalam editor at Udaipur and had directed the police to inquire into the matter and take necessary action against the culprits.
Several media organisations, including the Agartala Press Club, the Tripura Electronic Media Association, and the Khumulwng Press Club, strongly criticised the incident and expressed solidarity with the journalist.
Secretary of the Tripura Bar Association Kaushik Indu condemned the incident.
As per preliminary reports, Roy Chowdhury—who is a member of the Agartala Press Club and editor of the Bengali Daily News paper, Pratibadi Kalam—was allegedly issued death threats by a group of people within the court premises. He lodged a First Information Report (FIR) soon after the incident.
In a complaint filed at the West Agartala Police Station, Roy Chowdhury accused one Jasim Uddin and his associates of threatening to kill him and his legal counsel at around 12.50 pm inside the court complex.
The FIR further mentioned that the accused demanded ₹20 lakh from him and attempted to stop him and his lawyer from leaving the premises by positioning motorcycles in front of and behind their vehicle.
Roy Chowdhury also alleged that the incident took place in the presence of a sub-inspector identified as Prabir Chanda, along with other on-duty police personnel.
Sources said members of the local bar association intervened after learning about the incident and staged a protest, following which the accused reportedly fled the scene.
Later, Roy Chowdhury and his lawyer returned to Agartala and submitted a detailed written complaint to the police.
Expressing serious concern, the media fraternity including Agartala Press Club demanded swift and appropriate police action, sought the immediate arrest of Jasim Uddin and others involved.
The Press club members also called for a probe into the role of the police personnel who were present at the spot during the incident.