Imphal, December 19: A month after being taken into custody for allegedly targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister N Biren Singh in social media, Manipur based journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhemcha was sentenced to a year's detention under the National Security Act on Wednesday.

Announcing the detention of the journalist, the order from the office of Manipur governor Dr Najma Heptulla stated, “In consonance with the opinion expressed by the Advisory Board and in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 12(1) of the said Act, the Governor of Manipur is pleased to order that the detention of Kishorchandra Wangkhemcha... is hereby confirmed.” Kalyan: Marriages And Funeral Processions Affected Due to PM Narendra Modi’s Visit to Lay Foundation of Metro Projects.

According to the complaint filed by the BJP-led state government, the 39-year-old journalist had shared a defamatory video in Facebook, criticising CM Singh as well as PM Modi.

Also, the video reportedly called Singh a "puppet" of PM Modi and the RSS for organising a function – meant to mark the birth anniversary of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi despite the Rajput queen having nothing to do with Manipur. Along with that, he had also dared the state government to arrest him.

Stating his opinion, Wangkhemcha had said, as reported by news agency Reuters, “Don't betray, don't insult the freedom fighters of Manipur.” Reacting on the arrest of the journalist, his lawyer commented, “It is nothing but blatant abuse of the law and powers of the government.”

The latest report states that the family of Wangkhemcha is most likely to challenge a 12-month detention period, which is the maximum under the National Security Act.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 20, 2018 12:04 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).