E-Paper
YouTuber booked in Arunachal for racist remarks held in Ludhiana
Paras Singh, who goes by the name Paras Official on his YouTube channel, had termed Congress MLA Ninong Ering a non-Indian and claimed that Arunachal was a part of China
YouTuber and social media influencer Paras Singh, alias Bunty, was arrested in Ludhiana on Tuesday for his racial remarks against a Congress MLA from Arunachal Pradesh and ill will towards the people of the state.
Paras Singh, who goes by the name Paras Official on his YouTube channel, had in a video posted on Sunday termed Congress MLA Ninong Ering a non-Indian and apparently claimed that Arunachal Pradesh was a part of China, sparking furore among Arunchalees and people from other parts of the country.
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In another video, posted on Monday, he apologised for his comments.
“A case has been registered against Paras for racial hatred and the cyber crime branch in Itanagar is investigating the matter,” Arunachal Pradesh police chief RP Upadhyaya said.
Paras Singh has 457k subscribers on his YouTube channel.
Union minister of state for youth affairs and sports Kiren Rijiju confirmed Paras Singh’s arrest and tweeted that he has talked to the Ludhiana commissioner of police to speed up the process to hand over the accused to Arunachal Pradesh Police.
Appalled, dismayed: Arunachal leaders
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu condemned the racial slur and said the “video aims at inciting ill will and hatred towards the people of Arunachal Pradesh”. Social media should be used with caution and any infringement will lead to action according to law, the CM added.
State deputy chief minister Chowna Mein said he was “appalled and greatly dismayed” to see the YouTube post, which not just “casts doubt on the nationality of the Arunachal Pradesh MLA but also questions about the existence of the state within India”.
“To doubt our nationality because of how we look is a problem most of us from the Northeast of India face regularly in the mainland. What we look like, how we dress, what we eat and how we live makes us no less Indian. We are proud to be a state in the Union of India where even in the interior most we greet each other with a Jai Hind and primary schoolchildren even in the border villages sing Saare Jahaan se Achha, Hindustan Hamara with pride,” he said on his official Twitter handle.
More legal trouble for YouTuber
Paras Singh had apparently made the comments while reacting to a letter written by Ering to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wherein he had sought a ban on the relaunch of PUBG Mobile as Battlegrounds Mobile India.
The Pasighat East MLA, when contacted, said he would file a case against Paras Singh.
The All-Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) issued a statement to say that the people of the state are hurt by the remarks. “Such incidents are not isolated ones and have been happening time and again in various parts of the country. It is distressing that even after over 70 years of the country’s independence, people from the state and the northeast region in general face humiliation in other parts of the country, whenever they go there for work or study,” the joint statement by AAPSU president Hawa Bagang and general secretary Tabom Dai said.
(With inputs from PTI)
