Rape and death threats for being Kashmiri sympathiser

Dwaipayan Ghosh | TNN | 21 February 2019 | KOLKATA: Hours after a Class XII student alleged harassment - both online and offline - after she wrote about the Pulwama attack, a 35-year-old woman, who is a mental health professional and mother of a seven-year-old child, has alleged that both she and her son were being threatened over the past four days on Facebook.

In her post on February 15, she had asked if those who are crying over the deaths of the jawans also feel the pain for ordinary Kashmiri citizens. And now, she is being subjected to a barrage of hate messages, rape threats and death threats. The woman has already lodged an FIR with the police.

"I am living in constant fear. Last month, too, I had lodged an FIR against a right-wing group that had threatened to harm my child. But even after I lodged a second FIR this Sunday, neither have the cops acted nor the attacks ceased," she told TOI.

Cops, however, swung into action after TOI reported about the plight of the Kasba girl. Police contacted her on Wednesday and offered her protection. "As it was a critical time for her to prepare for her upcoming board exams, we are there to provide her protection. Our team in mufti has visited her house and even though she refused protection, we have carried out a safety audit of her residence and places she frequently visits in south Kolkata. We have given her contact numbers of officers and accepted her complaint," claimed a senior police officer.

The cyber cell, meanwhile, will help identify all those who had threatened her. "We will speak to a particular stall owner who might help us establish the identity of her stalkers," claimed a source. The girl said she was satisfied with the interaction with cops. "I feel more confident now," she told TOI.

Commissioner Anuj Sharma has already held meetings with his officers, asking them to keep all channels open to get in touch with all who are feeling threatened. "We are in touch with Kashmiris as well. We want to assure everyone that this is one of the safest cities in the country for anyone to live in," said Sharma.