A few days after the Delhi’s Commission for Women took cognizance into the matter of online harassment of Vamika Kohli, a Hyderabad techie has been arrested for making online rape threats to Virat Kohli’s 9-month-old daughter Vamika. Reportedly, the man works at Hyderabad as a software engineer and had also worked at a food delivery platform prior. The alleged accused has been identified as 23-year-old Ramnagesh Srinivas (23). After being nabbed by the Hyderabad police, the man is being processed for being brought to Mumbai for further proceedings.
Earlier, the 9-month-daughter of Virat Kohli received rape threats on Twitter following India’s disappointing performance against Pakistan in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.
Background
Anonymity is a two-edged sword that has troubled people on Internet since a long time. While on one hand, internet offers people a safe space to share their ideas, and express their feelings without being subjected to any unforeseen consequences, it’s the same thing that leads to trolling.
Celebrities in India are on the receiving end of some brutal uncalled-for trolling. From their physical appearance, to their fashion choice, to their sexuality, trollers can go to lengths to bring a celebrity down.
But what happens when “fans” make rape and murder threats on social media to their celebrities because the fans were not satisfied with them?
Where does one draw the line?
And is anonymity a necessary evil?
The Facts of the Matter
A Hyderabad-based techie has been held by the police for making online rape threats to former T20 Indian team skipper Virat Kohli’s daughter Vamika. The rape threats were first made in the wake of India’s disappointing loss against Pakistan, and were then amplified by several other platforms on Twitter.
The accused has been identified as Ramnagesh and is currently being processed to be brought back to Mumbai for further investigation. The man was nabbed by the Mumbai police’s cyber cell branch.
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Troller Was IITian, Was Going to Pursue PhD
According to The News Minute, the accused is a graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, the most elite engineering institutes in India. Further, it’s also being reported that the accused is presently unemployed and had quit his job to pursue PhD.
FIR has already been lodged against the accused under multiple sections of the IPC and the IT Act. The man is currently booked under Section 345 (A) (sexual harassment), Section 506 (criminal intimidation), Section 500 (defamation) of the IPC.
Further he’s booked under Section 67, 67 (B) (Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act, etc. in electronic form) of the IT Act.
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How It All Started – Kohli Standing for Shami, and Losing Match
It all started when team India skipper stood in support of Indian pacer Mohammed Shami against the trolling Shami received on communal grounds. However, the same day, Shami couldn’t perform to his best and bled several runs in his spell.
Skipper Kohli faced extreme trolling, with a tweet of rape-threat to his daughter that was amplified by several groups on Twitter. It was also widely speculated that the account was from Pakistan and it was actually a Pakistani who was trolling skipper Kohli.
Fact Checking Platforms Confirms Troller Not from Pakistan
However, later, AltNews and BoomLive – two prominent factcheckers in India, reported that it was actually a Telegu speaking right-wing person who was posing as a Pakistan cricket fan that was trolling Kohli. Reportedly, the person changed their Twitter handle to criccrazyygirl from ramanheist on Twitter.
Further, AltNews also investigated and found out that the person had retweeted tweets from right-wing news platform OpIndia, and had tweeted several anti-Muslim tweets.
