Lakhs from 10,000 in hours; sharp rise of subscribers in Manaf’s YouTube channel 

KOZHIKODE: The number of subscribers on Manaf's YouTube channel has risen sharply amid allegations levelled by the family of Arjun, who died in the Shirur landslide, about lorry owner Manaf. The channel which had 10,000 subscribers yesterday has now 1.61 lakh subscribers. Manaf had shared all the information about the rescue operations done for Arjun in his YouTube channel 'Lorry Udama Manaf'.

Arjun's family in the press meet convened yesterday said that Manaf is selling him through his YouTube channel and that he is working like a PR agency. Manaf is spreading lies about the family and collecting funds in his name from many parts, said Arjun’s brother Abhijeeth and brother-in-law Jithin.

However, Manaf's response was that no funds were received and if the crime is proved, he will come and stand at Mananchira Maidan and people can throw stones at him. After the controversy, the subscribers of his YouTube channel rose sharply.

After the allegations were levelled, many comments are seen on social media in favour of Manaf and against him. There is also a fierce cyber-attack against Jithin. Some propagated that Jithin is raising such allegations as he is a Sangh Parivar supporter. Meantime, some commented that Manaf is a self-promoting star and some said that they are relieved when Arjun's family opened it up.

The channel last posted a video 13 days ago. After finding Arjun's lorry, a video was not posted on the YouTube. Manaf's explanation is that the channel was started to take forward the intense search for Arjun and to inform people about it.