The father of 9-year-old 'climate activist' Licypriya Kangujam, who is referred to as India's Greta Thunberg, was arrested in Delhi in connection with a fraud case.
Kangujam Kanarjit, a self-proclaimed youth leader, was arrested in a joint operation by the Delhi and Manipur police. He had been earlier accused of exploiting his daughter for political gain.
After being on the run since 2016, Kanarjit was arrested for his alleged involvement in cases pertaining to forged documents and forged signatures. He is alleged to have collected funds from national and international students in the name of organising youth committee meetings and relief for earthquake victims, among other things. He was declared a fugitive by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Imphal in 2016 in another criminal case.
Licypriya Kangujam landed in the limelight in 2019 as a 7-year-old campaigning for a climate change law. Society was quick to dub her 'India's Greta Thunberg'. However, she has been accused of faking her achievements.
Earlier this month, the child claimed to be raising funds to buy oxygen concentrators amid a shortage of medical equipment against the background of the second COVID wave in the country. Manipuri activists have voiced concerns about Kangujam exploiting his child to build a social and political image.
We’re sending tonight 100 B-type Oxygen Cylinders for the people of Tamil Nadu. ♥️🙏🏻
— Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) May 29, 2021
We already sent another 100 oxygen cylinder to Manipur.
If you wanted to help India 🇮🇳 to save more lives, you can contribute here: 🙏🏻⤵️https://t.co/zNreBKFWP6 pic.twitter.com/ZWrLQEnmCi
In 2019, Licypriya spent a week outside the Indian Parliament to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also claimed that she was invited to the UN office in Geneva to address the sixth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2019.
However, a fact check by a local news portal revealed that she was not an official speaker at the event in Geneva. She has a verified Twitter account and it is managed by her ‘team’.
At the height of the farmers' protest, Licypriya Kangujam had asked Thunberg to support the protesters and tweeted, “Hi @GretaThunberg! Please extend support to the voice of millions of Indian farmers. This is the world’s biggest historic protest for their rights.”
