The Mumbai police's Cyber Cell has held a man from Hyderabad for giving online rape threats to the daughter of Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli following the team's loss to Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. The man, identified as 23-year-old Ramnagesh Srinivas Akubathini, is being brought to Mumbai, the Mumbai police said.
The accused is an IIT graduate and is presently unemployed. He had posted a rape threat to Kohli’s 9-month-old daughter when Kohli had thrown his weight behind Mohammed Shami against the social media trolling on communal lines following the pacer’s expensive spell in the match against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in UAE. India went on to lose that match against Pakistan by 10 wickets with Shami conceding over 40 runs.
After screenshots of alleged rape threats were shared on social media platforms, including Twitter, BoomLive had reported that one such threat was made by a Twitter user who went by the name @ramanheist earlier and had recently changed the handle name to @criccrazyygirl to pose as a Pakistani cricket fan. Analysing past tweets by the handle, BoomLive reported that the account was run by a Telugu-speaking Indian right-wing user and not a Pakistani cricket fan.
Earlier, the Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) had issued a notice to the Delhi police in connection with rape threats issued against the child. In a notice addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police and Cyber Crime Branch of Delhi Police, Commission Chairperson Swati Maliwal said that the DCW has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter based on media reports.
“It has been reported that online threats are given to rape the 9-month-old girl child of Virat Kohli since the team’s defeat in the recent India-Pakistan match. It is learnt that he is being also attacked since he spoke against the incessant trolling of his teammate Mohammad Shami who was targeted for his religion by online trolls,” Maliwal wrote in her notice.
She sought action from the police and asked for a copy of the FIR (first information report) registered in his regard and details of the accused who have been arrested.