A special court in Patna on Tuesday granted transit remand of YouTuber Manish Kashyap, also known as Tripurari Tiwari, to the Tamil Nadu police. In early March, Kashyap caused panic and fear by spreading rumors of an attack on Bihari migrants in Tamil Nadu. He is accused of sharing fake videos of purported attacks on migrant workers from Bihar in the southern state.
The videos uploaded by him were widely shared on social media, creating political upheaval, leading to a ruckus in the Bihar Assembly. The opposition, chiefly BJP, accused both Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav of not caring about Bihari migrants. However, following investigations, it was found that the videos were fake.
The Bihar police have filed three cases against Kashyap, while the Tamil Nadu police have booked him in six cases. The cases are registered against him in Krishnagiri, Burgas, and Tripura. Kashyap’s YouTube channel, ‘Sach Tak,’ is also under scrutiny by the investigating agencies.
Earlier, Bihar police’s Economic Offences Unit team had taken Kashyap on remand for interrogation. Several locals in Bihar came out in support of Kashyap after his arrest.
The Economic Offence Unit (EOU) has frozen a total of total of ₹42.11 lakhs rupees kept in four separate bank accounts. Police also unearthed ‘illegal money transfer” done through Kashyap’s account. The motive behind Kashyap’s criminal act is not clear. EOU’s investigation has revealed that Kashyap is desperate to become a politician. He had unsuccessfully sought a ticket from Shiv Sena. Reportedly, he has had a history of communal cases against him for which Sena denied him ticket.
He went on to contest 2020 Assembly polls as an independent candidate. After his arrest, People of Bihar came out in support of Manish Kashyap. It is believed Kashyap has the support of BJP. BJP leader Kapil Mishra tweeted in support of Kashyap slamming Bihar government.
मनीष कश्यप के साथ जो बिहार सरकार कर रही है वो है आपातकाल, तानाशाही, दमन
नेहा राठौर को मिले एक नोटिस पर कुर्ते फाड़ने वाले अब सन्नाटे में बैठे है
मनीष कश्यप के साथ हो रहा व्यवहार ये बताता है कि बिहार सरकार अंदर से भयभीत और कमजोर है
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) March 19, 2023
Manish Kashyap has still not produced his mobile phone to police. Police recovered hard discs and diaries from Kashyap’s home which signify he orchestrated the fake video. His association with history-sheeter Nagesh Samrat also came to fore during police investigation.