Manipur vernacular daily editor arrested days after Moreh report

Jan 6, 2024, 08:50 IST

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Manipur vernacular daily editor arrested days after Moreh report

Imphal: Days after a local daily carried an article on deteriorating law and order in Moreh town which saw the killing of a senior police officer and attacks on police and central forces, the editor of the daily was arrested on charges of causing enmity between communities.
Dhanabir Maibam was produced before a magistrate and sent to police custody for three days.Even as the police charged him with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and race, the news of the second editor of a vernacular to be arrested by the police in seven days, angered civil society and the media fraternity.
Police in their complaint said news published in the daily was likely to cause fear or alarm. “Yes, he has been arrested and remanded in police custody by the court after production,” said superintendent of police (Imphal West) Ksh Shivakanta.
A police source said his arrest was related to a recent report on the law-and-order situation at Moreh town bordering Myanmar.

Earlier on December 29 last year, Wangkhemcha Shamjai, editor-in-chief of another vernacular evening daily was arrested for a report published in his paper, which the police alleged could trigger tension and incite enmity among communities. Shamjai, the past president of the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union, was released on Sunday.
Shamjai, a former president of All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU), after three days in police custody was released on bail last Sunday on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with a surety bond of like amount.

Shamjai’s arrest drew condemnations from many sections, particularly from the media bodies – AMWJU, Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM) and Paomi Welfare Foundation (PWF), political leaders as well as some philanthropic organizations of which he is the president.
Commenting on Maibam's arrest, Jeet Ningombam, the editor of Imphal-based Elite TV, said, “I do not endorse the arrest of a senior editor. He could have been asked to make a clarification if he has made a mistake(s) in his report(s).”

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