Blackmail Behind the Camera: Fake Journalists and Social Media Influencers Accused of Defaming Innocents in Tripura
Jayanta Debnath
June 19, 2025
Tripura is witnessing a disturbing rise in unethical journalism and unlawful digital vigilantism, where a section of self-styled video journalists, social media influencers, and certain rogue media outlets are accused of blackmailing innocent citizens, including women and minors. These individuals allegedly capture photos and videos, often during police operations and then use them to extort money. When victims refuse to comply, their visuals are maliciously uploaded on social media, falsely accusing them of criminal activity. The all-important question that arises is how police personnel allow photo-shoots inside the police station or during operations without even raising a question.
In one of the most alarming recent incidents, a young woman of Ambasa under Dhalai District became the victim of digital harassment during a police raid at a ladies' parlour cum spa in Dharmanagar. During the raid, some local video journalists and influencers, without any legal authorization, filmed and photographed the girl without her consent. They later approached her demanding money in exchange for keeping the footage private.
Upon her refusal to pay the bribe, the footage was circulated online with the false claim that she was part of a sex racket, a baseless and deeply defamatory allegation. The matter was reportedly brought to the attention of Tripura’s Director General of Police (DGP), Anurag Dhankar, IPS who ordered a formal inquiry and action against the accused.
However, sources reveal that even after the DGP’s directives, the Dharmanagar police have failed to make any meaningful progress in booking the culprits.In an another similar case in 2021 in Teliamura, one Human Rights Activist from Kolkata was blackmailed. In this case in December 2021, involving Shantanu Dey, a human rights activist from Madhyamgram, Kolkata, officially complained that he was visiting his ancestral homeland Tripura for a human rights campaign and historical site visits. During a routine personal visit to Teliamura, a minor altercation near a friend’s house led him to call the local police for intervention.
Instead of receiving protection, Dey alleges that self-proclaimed TV journalists and social media content creators began recording videos of him without his consent both on the street and even later inside the Teliamura Police Station. Despite Dey’s repeated protests and requests for their identification, they continued filming, claiming they were affiliated with unnamed news channels.
Soon after, Dey was allegedly blackmailed inside the police station by these individuals, who demanded Rs. 50,000 to prevent the videos from going viral. When he refused to yield to their threats, the videos were reportedly uploaded online with grotesquely false captions branding him as a local mafia, drug dealer, and handler of a prostitution racket.
These defamatory videos circulated widely across platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, causing Dey immense emotional distress and social ostracization. He received threatening phone calls from unknown numbers, and was forced to leave Tripura on December 23, 2021. To date, he claims, no proper legal action has been taken despite multiple complaints. Now he has filed a case in Kolkata high court.
These cases are not merely unethical, they are illegal under multiple Indian new criminal laws. In particular, Bharatiya Naya Sanghita (BNS) strictly prohibits the publication of any information that could reveal the identity of a victim of a sexual offense. This includes photographs and videos, and violators face imprisonment.
The POCSO Act (2012), Section 23 forbids disclosure of identity of child victims, with strict penalties for offenders.Even in non-sexual offense cases, publishing someone’s face or identity without consent, especially when they're not an accused, can amount to defamation, criminal intimidation, and breach of privacy.
Furthermore, entering a police station and recording videos without authorization is a clear violation of standard operating procedures and may constitute criminal trespass. But surprisingly, in Tripura all these illegal activities are happening in front of police. And there is not even a single instance that police took any legal actions against any violators. Even, state human rights Commission is also silent.
(Writer is a senior journalist and Editor Tripurainfo.com)
(Tripurainfo)
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