Senior Manipur newspaper editor Wangkhecha Shamjai released on bail

Guwahati: A court in Imphal on Sunday (December 31) granted bail to senior editor Wangkhemcha Shamjai, who was arrested for publishing an alleged incendiary report recently in his paper Kangleipakki Meira, a vernacular evening daily in Manipur.

Imphal police on Friday (December 29) arrested Shamjai, former president of the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU), an umbrella body of the scribes of the state.

On the same day, he was remanded in three-days police custody by the court.

Shamjai (67), was produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (Imphal West-II) by the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case on Sunday.

Considering the submissions made by the prosecution and Shamjai’s counsel, the court maintained that it is in the view that the accused person (Shamjai) being a senior citizen and being deeply rooted in the society, is not flight risk and also has an issue of heart problem, as such there would be no chance of him in hampering or tempering the investigation.

Moreover, the accused is willing to cooperate with the investigation and is ready to furnish surety bond, said the court.

Upon this, the court granted bail to Shamjai on personal bond of Rs 50,000 with a surety bond of like amount on certain conditions among others that he should not “directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person/witness of the prosecution.”

He should not try to hamper the investigation or temper with the evidence and that he should co-operate with the IO for investigation and should also appear whenever the IO calls for investigation, the court said.

Having granted bail, the court asked Shamjai to appear before it on January 15 next year.
His arrest refers to a suo-moto case taken up by Imphal police station for a report published by Kangleipakki Meira which the police alleged could spark tension and promote enmity among communities.

Under sections 153/153-A/505(1)(b)/505(2) of the Indian Penal Code, the police booked him.

Shamjai’s arrest drew criticisms from various sections, mostly from the media orgnisations– AMWJU, Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM) and Paomi Welfare Foundation (PWF), political leaders and some philanthropic organisations of which he is the president.

Shamjai is also the present chairperson of PWF, a trust set up for the welfare of AMWJU members.

In different statements, the media bodies as well as Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee President and senior party legislator K Meghachandra categorically condemned Shamjai’s arrest and sought for his conditional release.