Manipur: Rights activist Mark Haokip remanded to 15 days judicial custody

Imphal: Activist Mark Haokip was brought to Imphal on Friday by Manipur Police from Delhi in connection with three FIR cases filed against him for allegedly writing derogatory and defamatory statements on social media, both on his Twitter and Facebook accounts, against freedom fighter Padma Bhushan awardee Rani Gaidinliu.

Later that evening, the Duty Magistrate remanded Mark Haokip to judicial custody for 15 days after he failed to provide a Rs 1 lakh PR bond and surety upon being granted bail.

The accused was brought before the court by an Imphal police team.

Soon after Mark Thangmang Haokip arrived from Delhi, a team of Imphal West district police officers who were already at the airport took him to the Imphal police station.

He is expected to appear before a Duty Magistrate in Imphal West late this evening, with a request for police custody remand for further investigation of the case.

Mark Thangmang Haokip was apprehended by an Imphal police team from Kishangarh, Delhi on May 24 at night  in connection with three separate FIR cases, including making defamatory statements on social media against freedom fighter Padma Bhushan awardee Rani Gaidinliu.

On Friday, the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal West issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Mark Thangmang Haokip in connection with an application filed by the Imphal police station.

The application was filed by the Officer in Charge of the Imphal Police Station on the grounds that he (Mark Thangmang Haokip) made derogatory and defamatory statements on social media on November 23, 2021 against freedom fighter Padma Bhushan awardee Rani Gaidinliu.

According to  reports , leaders of ten Manipur civil society organisations filed a complaint with the Imphal police station, claiming that Mark Thangmang Haokip's derogatory and defamatory statements had hurt many people's feelings and threatened communal harmony.

It should be noted that violent protests demanding the release of activist Mark Thangmang Haokip took place in the Churachandpur district on Wednesday. A joint team of Manipur and Delhi police arrested Haokip, the President of the Manipur chapter of the International Human Rights Association, for allegedly inciting hatred between communities through social media posts.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Biren Singh has questioned activist Mark Haokip's actions, describing them as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the peace. He also said that the law will take its own course.