Last year, MS Dhoni had received a rape threat against his daughter Ziva for his performance in the Indian premiere League (IPL). This year, it is Indian captain Virat Kohli who has received rape threats against his nine-month-old daughter, because he took a stand against the communal criticisms against his teammate and cricketer, Mohammad Shami. Following this, the Delhi Commission of Women issued a notice to the Delhi police in connection with rape threats issued against the minor daughter of Virat Kohli and actor Anushka Sharma.
The online rape threats were made following Virat Kohli’s criticism against the hate messages made against pacer Mohammed Shami after the team’s loss to Pakistan at the T20 World Cup series on October 24. 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. She asked if the police have not arrested any accused in the case, then the police should illustrate the steps taken in this regard and provide a detailed action taken report. All this information has to be submitted by the police to the DCW by November 8, the notice signed by Maliwal said.
Screenshots of alleged rape threats were shared on social media platforms, including Twitter. BoomLive 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.
Virat Kohli, who finally broke his silence against the online abuse against Mohammad Shami, was accused of insulting Hindus and ‘enabling Pakistan’s narrative.’