A journalist from Imphal, Manipur, Kishorechandra Wangkhem was recently arrested for a post on his Facebook wall where he commented on the death of a BJP leader due to COVID-19.
Manipur's BJP President, Saikhon Tikendra Singh, succumbed to COVID-19 on Thursday, and following his death, Wangkhem wrote, “Santhi Sanyung na yadrabo, oh!!! RIP #Rashikang_Kangyet Hayeng nga chaani.” (Cow dung cow urine didn’t work. Groundless argument. Tomorrow I will eat fish.)
Wangkhem's comments come after a lot of claims by various leaders that emphasize on the effectiveness of cow dung and cow urine against COVID-19. His post was found to be insensitive by BJP general secretary P. Premananda Meetei and BJP vice-president Usham Deban, who filed a complaint with the police leading to Wangkhem's arrest.
However, his arrest has spared outrage among netizens since he was only debunking a very dangerous myth. Many claim that his arrest is baseless. Here is how the online community reacted:
Another activist, Erendro Leichombam, was also arrested along with Wangkhem for a post that reiterated how cow dung or cow urine were useless against COVID-19. Erendro wrote on Facebook, "“The cure for Corona is not cow dung & cow urine. The cure is science & common sense. Professor ji RIP," following the death of the BJP leader.
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