Kishorchandra Wangkhem, an Imphal based journalist, was sentenced to jail, on Tuesday, for a term of 1 year, under the National Security Act (NSA).
The verdict of the prison sentence came after a month of Mr. Wangkhem’s detention on the 27th of November. Kishorchandra Wangkhem was detained for targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a social media post. As per a Government order, Kishorchandra was detained “to prevent him from acting in any matter prejudicial to the security of the state and to the maintenance of public order.”
Mr. Wangkhem allegedly posted a video on Facebook, defaming Narendra Modi and criticising N. Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur.
In the video, Mr. Wangkhem called N. Biren Singh a ‘puppet’ of Narendra Modi. The video also criticised a function organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to celebrate the birth anniversary of Rani Laxmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi, even though Rani Laxmi Bai was not related to Manipur in any way.
In his video, Kishorchand asked the Government, “Do you have any sense of Manipuri nationalism? If you don’t, don’t talk rubbish.”
In one of his Facebook posts, Mr. Wangkhem said, “Don’t betray, don’t insult the freedom fighters of Manipur.” He also challenged the Manipur Government to arrest him.
Dr. Najma Heptulla, the Governor of Manipur, released an order stating, “In consonance with the opinion expressed by the Advisory Board and in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 12(1) of the said Act, the Governor of Manipur is pleased to order that the detention of Kishorchandra Wangkhem… is hereby confirmed.”
Kishorchandra’s family is expected to challenge the order of the Government. Some of the activists consider the NSA as a strict law with a high possibility of being misused for political reasons.
