NEW DELHI: A case was registered against three members of the fact-finding team of the Editors Guild of India for their special report on the communal riots in Manipur. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh was irascible in his comments against the Editor’s Guild report which he termed as fabricated and that fueled more tension in the riots.

Editors Guild fact-finding committee, Seema Guha, Sanjay Kapoor and Bharat Bhushan, visited Manipur from August 7 to 10 and prepared the report. However, one social worker based in Imphal, N Sarath Singh complained about the report being just factoids and he lodged a complaint. Editors Guild President Seema Mustafa has also been accused in the FIR. Section 66A of the IT Act, which was repealed by the Supreme Court in 2015, was also charged against the Editors' Guild.

The report mentioned that the government acted in favour of the Meitei tribes during the riots in the state and failed to perform the duties of a democratic government. The FIR mentions deep about the lies propagated by the Editors Guild report. In one such instance, the report gave headlines saying a house of Kuki people being burned in the Churachandpur district, but in reality, it was a beat office of the forest department that was put on fire by tribals. The Editors Guild had earlier admitted that this was a mistake that happened at the photo editing stage.

The All Manipur Working Journalists Union and the Editors Guild of Manipur accused the Editors Guild report of containing half-baked facts. Media organizations have denied the allegation that the Manipur media colluded to spread false news. Meanwhile, the Press Club of India has condemned the FIR against the Editors' Guild.