AP: YouTuber Paras Singh, Jailed for Using Racial Slur, Gets Bail

The court allowed Paras’s plea for bail on execution of a personal bond of Rs 10, 000 and other conditions.

Irked by Ering’s demand to ban PUBG’s Battlegrounds Mobile India, Paras Singh said Ninong Ering “looked Chinese”.

(Photo altered by The Quint)

The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Itanagar granted bail to YouTuber Paras Singh who was arrested last month for making racial remarks against senior Congress MLA Ninong Ering and the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

The court allowed Paras’s plea for bail on the execution of a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and set other conditions, including not permitting him to leave the country. The YouTuber has also been told to stay away from interfering in the investigation process.

Speaking to Capital News, a local media house, public prosecutor Advocate Rotom Vijay said, “The bail was granted to Paras as the investigation process was almost over and all necessary statements have been recorded by the state police during his time in judicial custody here.”

Rotom, however, said that Paras being granted bail does not mean the case is closed; trial would continue after the submission of the charge sheet, he said.

He would have to come back to Arunachal for the hearing(s) of the case whenever the court summons him, Rotom said.

What Did Paras Say?

Social media influencer Paras who goes by the name ‘Paras Official’ on YouTube had, in one of his videos posted on his channel in May, termed “Ering as a non-Indian and Arunachal Pradesh, a part of China”.

Paras had made the comments while reacting to a letter recently addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Ering, wherein he had appealed to the latter to ban the relaunch of PUBG Mobile India’s new avatar Battlegrounds Mobile India.

Ering, also a former Lok Sabha member, had reasoned that the game was aimed at deceiving the government and citizens and should be banned in the country.

Paras, while commenting on the development in his video, was heard saying that Ering does not look like an Indian and Arunachal was a part of China.

Paras who was interrogated by the SIT of the state police had revealed that the controversial video was made by him to gain widespread attention and views, so that his monetary income could be maximised.

According to the police, the YouTuber was enraged after reading the letter sent by MLA Ering seeking a ban on PUBG, as banning the online game would have meant loss in income for him.

(This story was first published in EastMojo and has been republished with permission.)