The Imphal Police on Monday filed a first information report against an anonymous social media handle, which claims to be a fan of the author Arundhati Roy, for uploading a post that described Manipur’s dominant Meitei community as “terrorists”.
The state has been gripped by ethnic violence between the Kuki and the Meitei communities since May 2023. The violence has left at least 224 persons dead and displaced 60,000 from their homes.
The first information report was registered on a complaint against the handle – which goes by the name “Arundhati” on the social media platform X and features a photo of the author – by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member Desh Raj Yumnam.
The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha is the youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
A news report had earlier claimed that the case had been filed against Arundhati Roy, who is not on X, but Superintendent of Police (Imphal West) Shivakanta Singh confirmed to Scroll that only the X handle (@Polytikles) has been booked.
According to Yumnam, the handle on May 18 posted: “BJP stands with Brij Bhusan, Revanna, Daksh Chowdhury & Terrorist Meitis [Meiteis] of Manipur.”
The post has since been deleted.
In his complaint, Yumnam said that the handle made the “communal” statement to “defame and spread hatred against the [Meitei] community”.
“The accused also instigates a specific community to doing untoward acts by calling them a terrorist,” the complaint said.
The complaint alleged that the statement was made to provoke and create insecurity among the public. Yumnam claimed that it aimed to “incite the public to overthrow the democratically elected government and to revolt against the present government” and “further separate the Meiteis and the Kukis”.
The first information report has been filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code related to promoting enmity between different groups, among others.
The X handle, in the post, also referred to BJP leader and former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing accusations of sexual abuse from six women wrestlers.
It also mentioned Lok Sabha MP from Karnataka’s Hassan, Prajwal Revanna, who is facing allegations of having sexually assaulted several women.
On April 28, Revanna and his father, former Karnataka minister HD Revanna, were booked by the Karnataka Police for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation.
Prajwal Revanna is believed to be in Germany, where he flew on the night of April 27 using his diplomatic passport. However, in a video on Monday, the MP said that he would appear before the Karnataka Police’s Special Investigation Team on May 31.
The post also mentioned Daksh Chaudhary, who on May 17 had allegedly assaulted the Congress’ Lok Sabha candidate from Northeast Delhi, Kanhaiya Kumar, while he was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.
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