YouTuber’s racial slur on Arunachal MLA: Police team to leave for Punjab

Itanagar: A team of Arunachal Pradesh police will leave for Ludhiana in Punjab on Tuesday to follow up on the case related to use of racial slur by YouTuber Paras Singh against former Arunachal Pradesh MP and sitting Congress legislator Ninong Ering and inciting ill will and hatred towards the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

State director general of police R P Upadhyaya said the whereabouts of Singh have been traced by the Punjab police and he will be brought to justice soon.

The DGP, however, said that there was no official communication from the Punjab police yet as to whether Singh was arrested.

Unconfirmed reports and a video posted on social media by Singh’s mother, however, suggested that the YouTuber was arrested by the local police from his residence on Monday afternoon.

“We are working in close coordination with the Punjab police and are waiting for an update from their end,” Upadhyaya said while adding that the information would be shared as and when available.

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In response to a query if Kumar would be bought to Arunachal Pradesh for trial, the DGP said that it depends on the court and the age of the accused.

“The legal procedures would be based on his age. If he is a minor, then we will have to follow the juvenile justice system,” Upadhyaya said.

Juvenile offenders have adjudication hearings instead of trials.

Calls made to Ludhiana police officers for details on the case went unanswered.

Paras Singh, who goes by the name ‘Paras Official’ on his YouTube channel, has allegedly termed “Ering as a non-Indian and Arunachal Pradesh, a part of China,” in one of his videos posted on Sunday.

Paras made the comments while reacting to a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Ering recently, wherein the latter had asked the PM to ban the re-launch of PUBG Mobile India’s new avatar Battlegrounds Mobile India.

Ering had reasoned that the game was aimed at deceiving the government and citizens and should be banned in the country.

The former MP had also said that “re-launching the game was a mere illusion and a trick to collect user data of the citizens, including children and transfer it to foreign companies and the Chinese government.”

Reacting to EastMojo story, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu said a case has been registered against Singh under Sec 124A/ 153A/ 505(2) of the IPC.

Meanwhile, several organisations of the state have condemned the alleged racial slur made by Singh on MLA Ninong Ering and the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society (APWWS) said “such statements by a fellow Indian have deeply hurt the sentiments of the people living in the eastern part of the country”.

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“This is not the first time such racist remarks have made against us, but this time the limit has been crossed. Such people must be arrested under appropriate sections of the law so that no one would have the nerve to makes such videos in the future,” the society said.

The APWWS has also appealed the state government to take the matter seriously.

The All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA) said Kumar’s irresponsible and anti-national statement has deeply hurt the sentiment of Arunachal people in particular and the country as a whole.

“He also disrespected the Indian map by depicting Indian territory as foreign land which is intolerable and unwanted. We appeal the government of India to declare him an anti-national. He must be booked under relevant sections of the law,” ANYA president Byabang Joram said in a statement.

The Arunachal Students’ Union of Chandigarh has also lodged a complaint at the Cyber Cell, PHQ here seeking immediate legal action against the content creator.