A court in Imphal on January 6 sent the editor of Hueiyen Lanpao newspaper, Dhanbir Maibam, to a three-day police remand.
The editor of the vernacular daily was arrested by Imphal police on January 5 morning after registering a case under section 153-A/505(1)(B) 505(2)/120-B IPC & 3 (1)(C), 3(2), 5(d), 5(2),5 (3) of Official Secrets Act 1923.
Reports said that Maibam was arrested in connection with a recent report on the law-and-order situation in strife-torn Manipur. Police in their complaint said news published in the daily was likely to cause fear or alarm.
The police produced the editor before the Imphal West duty magistrate on January 6 with a prayer for remanding to police custody for further investigation into the case registered against him.
Dhanbir Maibam was the second editor of local dailies arrested by the police in connection with news reports published in their dailies in the recent time.
Earlier on December 29, 2023, the police had arrested Wangkhemcha Shamjai, editor-in-chief of Kangleipaki Meira, an evening daily published from Imphal for a report published in his paper.
The police alleged that that news could trigger tension and incite problems.
Shamjai, the past president of the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU), was released on bail after three days in police custody.
