The Press Club of India has raised concerns over the alleged harassment of senior journalist Pranab Sarkar from Tripura, who is also a member of the Press Club of India and serves as the President of the Agartala Press Club. The incident reportedly involves Tipra Motha Party MLA Ranjit Tripura.
In a statement, the Press Club of India expressed its worry and condemned the incident. The Tripura Journalists’ Union also denounced the actions, stating that a surrendered militant leader who is now an MLA in the Tripura Assembly had threatened Mr. Sarkar in order to prevent the publication of alleged wrongdoings by the leader.
The statement from the Press Club of India urged the media community to support Mr. Sarkar and called on the state government to provide him with necessary protection.
The incident escalated on October 26 when MLA Ranjit Tripura filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Mr. Sarkar, who owns and serves as the news editor of the well-known channel Headlines Tripura National in Tripura. The FIR was filed after the channel aired a report questioning the MLA’s nationality.
In the FIR, MLA Ranjit Tripura claimed that the news broadcast by Headlines Tripura National contained false information, including a fake Bangladeshi Voter ID Card and a fabricated Birth Certificate attributed to him. The MLA accused Mr. Sarkar and his associates of deliberately trying to damage his personal image and political career.
The FIR called for a criminal case to be registered against Mr. Sarkar and his associates under specific sections of the law, including the BNS-2023 Act, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the Indian Information Technology Act, 2000.
The Press Club of India and the Tripura Journalists’ Union have called for a thorough investigation into the matter and for justice to be served in accordance with the law. The incident has sparked concerns over press freedom and safety for journalists in the region.
