Imphal; 19 May 2021 (UMMN): A Manipur journalist and an activist have been charged with the stringent National Security Act (NSA) despite bail for saying cow dung and cow urine don’t cure corona on Facebook page.
Manipur journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem and political activist Erendro Leichombam were arrested on Thursday last week and sent to police custody till Sunday following a complaint filed against them by BJP general secretary P Premananda Meetei and BJP vice-president Usham Deban based on their Facebook posts following the death of Manipur BJP president Prof Saikhom Tikendra Singh.
According to East Mojo, Wangkhem and Leichombam were earlier arrested by Manipur police over their post on Facebook commenting on how cow dung and cow urine will not cure COVID-19. Their post on social media followed the death of Manipur BJP president Saikhom Jitendra Singh due to COVID-19.
Their comments on social media did not go down well with the ruling party in the state, which led to their arrest after a formal complaint was filed against them by BJP general secretary Wangkheimayum Chourjit Singh based on their Facebook posts.
In his Facebook post, Wangkhem wrote: “Santhi Sanyung na yadrabo, oh!!! RIP #Rashikang_Kangyet Hayeng nga chaani (rough translation: Cow dung cow urine didn’t work. Groundless argument. Tomorrow I will have fish).”
Meanwhile, another post was uploaded on Facebook by Leichombam and the post read: “The cure for Corona is Not cow dung & cow Urine. The cure is science and common Sense. Professor ji RIP”, reported East Mojo.
“They are just making statements on cow dung and cow urine and those words are being used by many people and not just by them. So simply reciprocating to those words or statements and slapping NSA to this extent, which is a draconian law, will not be a nice episode in the history of India,” said their lawyer Victor.
