Manipur govt files FIR against members of Editors Guild of India

Imphal (Manipur) [India]: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Monday that the state government has filed an FIR against the members of the Editors Guild who are trying to create more clashes in the state of Manipur.

The case has been filed against the three members – Seema Guha, Bharat Bhushan and Sanjay Kapoor said the Manipur Chief Minister. The Editors Guild is yet to respond to the FIR filed against its members.

Addressing the conference, CM Biren Singh said “I give a warning to the members of the Editors Guild, Who constituted them? if you want to do something, then do visit the spot, see the ground reality, meet the representatives of all communities and then publish what you found. Otherwise, meeting some sections only and coming to a conclusion is highly condemnable.”

“The State government has filed an FIR against the members of the Editors Guild who are trying to create more clashes in the state of Manipur,” CM added.

On September 2 the Editors Guild of India had released a report of its ‘Fact-Finding Mission on Media’s Reportage of the Ethnic Violence in Manipur’.

In its report which was posted on the Guilds social media handle on X the Guild had claimed “There are clear indications that the leadership of the state became partisan during the conflict. It should have avoided taking sides in the ethnic conflict but it failed to do its duty as a democratic government….”

On Friday Lt. Gen PC Nair DG Assam Rifles had said “Unlike in the past, Manipur is witnessing an “unprecedented” situation currently due to the ethnic clashes owing to the fact that both communities have large number of weapons putting the state in the spot like never before.”

“The situation that we are facing in Manipur is unprecedented. We have never faced anything of this kind. Something similar happened in the early 90s when the Nagas and Kukis fought and then within the Kuki groups also there was a fight in the late 90s.

Today, the biggest challenge is the large number of weapons that are out within both communities. Related to this, is the minds of both communities. Today, there’s so much against each other, it’s so corrupted.

This needs to be stalled,” the DG said, adding, “There is a need for realisation to come for the people that the only way forward is peace…”

Violence had gripped the entire state for over three months now and the Central government had to deploy paramilitary forces to bring the situation under control.