New Delhi: YouTuber Manish Kashyap, who circulated fake videos of attack on Bihari migrant laborers in Tamil Nadu, has been slapped with the stringent National Security Act (NSA), news agency ANI quoted a Madurai police official as saying on Thursday. A court in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai on Wednesday sent YouTuber Manish Kashyap to judicial custody till April 19. Kashyap was held for allegedly disseminating false and misleading information about alleged attacks on migrant laborers working in Tamil Nadu and was arrested from Bettiah in Bihar on March 18. According to the Bihar Police, the accused surrendered at the Jagdishpur police station in Bettiah, while the Bihar Police and the Economic Offenses Unit (EOU) were in the process of attaching his house.
Manish Kashyap moves Supreme Court for interim relief and clubbing of FIR
Earlier on Wednesday, Kashyap had moved the Supreme Court with his plea seeking interim bail and clubbing of the FIR registered against him. Kashyap has filed his petition through advocate AP Singh. “Several false FIRs were lodged against him in Bihar and Tamil Nadu at the behest of the present ruling government,” Kashyap said.
Manish Kashyap has demanded interim bail and clubbing of all the cases. “Cases have been registered against them because they raised the issue of violence against migrant laborers from Bihar in Tamil Nadu on social media,” he said.
According to an official statement issued by the EOU of the Bihar Police, Kashyap was wanted by the Bihar Police and the Tamil Nadu Police in a fake news case on the issue of laborers in the southern state.
Last month, a team from Bihar led by Balamurugan IAS visited Tamil Nadu to take stock of the matter. The team visited Tiruppur and met the district administration and police officials to know about the action taken so far in the matter.
Bihar government officials also interacted with migrant workers from Bihar in Chennai. On 9 March, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin attacked the BJP, accusing it of spreading rumors about the attack on migrant labourers.
The Chief Minister further said, ‘No such incident happens in Tamil Nadu and the representatives of Bihar who visited the state have returned with complete satisfaction.’
Stalin also spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over telephone and assured his Bihar counterpart about the safety of migrant workers. The alleged attack on Bihari migrants in Tamil Nadu had triggered a massive political uproar in both the states. The LJP chief had attacked the Chief Minister of Bihar on this issue.