Bihar migrants tweet: Supreme Court agrees to hear YouTuber …

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear the petition of journalist and Youtuber Manish Kashyap, who was arrested on March 18 for allegedly spreading fake videos of attacks on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. The Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud agreed to hear the matter at the end of the board today.

Filed by Kashyap's Counsel Dr. A.P. Singh, the petition sought interim bail and clubbing of multiple FIRs, which were registered against him in the States of Bihar and Tamil Nadu for his alleged tweets regarding migrant workers from Bihar working in Tamil Nadu, at one place.

Kashyap was arrested by the Economic Offences unit of Bihar Police on March 18, following his surrender at Jagdishpur police station in West Champaran. Earlier in the day, the Tamil Nadu police detained the YouTuber under the National Security Act (NSA). He was brought from Bihar to Tamil Nadu on Thursday on transit remand by a special team of TN police.

On April 5, a Madurai district court had remanded Kashyap to judicial custody for 15 days. He was sent to the Madurai central prison, where he was to remain till April 19. Kashyap had shared a video showing migrant labourers from Bihar purportedly being harassed in Tamil Nadu.

The video gained a thousand views and an inquiry over the incident was ordered by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had rejected allegations of violence against migrant workers.

A high-level committee of officials from Bihar that probed into the allegations also confirmed that no such attack had taken place in the southern state.