ITANAGAR, 28 May: YouTuber Paras Singh, who is in the custody of the state police after being arrested for making racist comments against Arunachal and MLA Ninong Ering, purportedly made the comments to make money.
22-year-old Paras earns money through his YouTube channel.
In a statement, Special Investigation Team (SIT) SP Rohit Rajbir Singh said that, during the course of the interrogation, “it has been further revealed that he made this controversial video on which the case has been registered, to gain widespread attention and views, so that his monetary income could be maximized.”
He apparently became enraged after reading the MLA’s letter to the prime minister, seeking a ban on PUBG in its new avatar, as it would have meant loss in income.
The police say that Paras makes money through his two YouTube accounts. One of his channels is used for showing gameplay of PUBG, while the other is used for “showing tips/tricks/informing about new dresses/weapon/skins of games like COD mobile, PUBG, unboxing videos,” the police said.
“Both these channels are monetized by YouTube. This means that to earn from that YouTube channel, a person must have at least 1,000 subscribers and at least 4,000 watching hours. A person gets about $ 1 per 10,000 views on a video.
Thus, on an average, accused Paras earns around Rs 20,000 to 25,000 per month from his videos,” Singh said.
Further investigation is going on.
An SIT team led by Inspector Techi Vijay and also comprising Constables GL Ray and Aman Kumar Meena, supervised by SIT OC Inspector Ngilyang Lali, had left for Ludhiana in Punjab on the same day that the complaint against Paras had been received. Paras was arrested on 26 May. A laptop, a tab and three mobile phones were also seized from his possession.
He was produced in the court of the CJM in Yupia on Friday, which remanded him to police custody for a day.
Paras’ statements had enraged the people of the state, prompting condemnation and filing of FIRs by several organizations.
AITF welcomes arrest, seeks action under NSA
Meanwhile, the Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum (AITF) has expressed appreciation for all those responsible for the prompt arrest of YouTuber Paras Singh for humiliating Arunachal and its people.
“Yesterday, 27 May, 2021, was indeed a day of a sigh of relief for the aborigines of the state when Shri Singh landed up in police custody of our home which he mocked,” the AITF stated in a press release on Friday, and urged the state government to “act and book the culprit under the National Security Act (NSA) and ensure stringent punishment for a lesson for the rest of the country.”
It also lauded the coordinated approach at the national level, especially the role of union MoS Kiren Rijiju and Delhi-based NGO Helping Hands president, IPS officer Robin Hibu, in ensuring the arrest of the YouTuber.
“With the fantastic team work in this episode, we are confident and hope that the same tempo shall continue in protecting the interest of the state and its people in particular and the Northeasterners in general in mainland India at the time of distress, despite acute manpower and resource crunch.
“We invite special attention of the state government for a greater role in financing the Helping Hand Society and close coordination with its office establishments in cities/towns of other states of the country,” the AITF said.
