Jantar Mantar protests: Women face rape threats, abuse despite PM Modi's 'forgiveness'

Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.Even after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had “forgiven” students who abused him during the Delhi Jantar Mantar protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), women protesters say they continue to face rape threats, online harassment, and police action.Speaking to IANS, a 15-year-old protester from the demonstrations, who had earlier apologised for using abusive language against Modi, said she continued to receive rape threats on social media and over phone calls, while police were still searching for her.“I am getting messages from unknown Instagram accounts and calls from unknown numbers. They openly say, ‘Wherever we find you, we will rape you.’ They are also sending sexually explicit pictures,” she said.The minor also said that despite her public apology, the criminal case against her had not been withdrawn. On July 31, the teenager appeared in a video released by CNN-News18 in which she apologised to Modi, saying she had been influenced by other protesters and calling it her “first and last mistake.”But despite the apology, she told IANS, the police kept coming to her house. “They came in the morning, they came again in the evening. They are looking for me everywhere, as if I have committed some serious crime,” she said, adding that she was happy “she had been forgiven” by Modi but was unable to tolerate the continued police action.The teenager’s remarks come a day after Modi addressed the controversy surrounding abusive slogans raised against him during the recent student protests, which began over the NEET paper leak and grew into a nationwide movement demanding broader reforms in the education system. In an Instagram reel posted on Friday, July 31, the Prime Minister referred to those who had abused him as “naughty children,” said they were “his own,” and said he had forgiven them and would show them the “right way".However, several women associated with the protests say the Prime Minister’s remarks have done little to stem the torrent of abuse directed at them online.Among them is 23-year-old content creator Shradha Singh, whose seven-second Instagram reel filmed alongside Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel at the protest site became the subject of intense outrage after it was amplified by television channels and social media accounts.In an interview with BBC Hindi published on August 1, Shradha alleged that she had been misled into appearing on a television debate after being told she would instead be allowed to explain her side. “I was told they would help my voice reach people and present my side of the story. But I realised only after I sat down that it was a debate. People began mocking me on air and demanded that cases be filed against me,” she said.She said she felt like crying during the programme but held herself back because millions would be watching, and she feared she would again be accused of “playing the victim card".In another video shared by the Indian Youth Congress, Shradha contrasted the respect she said she experienced at the protest with the abuse she has faced online since. “People are commenting 'Rate: Rs 200', 'Rs 300', 'Rs 50' even on normal videos,” she said, referring to sexually abusive comments posted under her videos.“During the protest, I stood among hundreds of men. Not a single person touched me inappropriately, used abusive language, or disrespected me. But people sitting behind screens on the internet have completely shattered my courage.”She appealed to the Prime Minister to also address the misogynistic abuse women were facing online. “Please pay attention to how women are being trolled and the degrading things being said about them,” she said.A detailed report published by Scroll on August 1 documented the sustained online targeting of women protesters following the demonstrations. According to the report, Shradha said BJP supporters and anonymous social media accounts had doxxed her by tracing her phone number and address, leading to death and rape threats. She also alleged that her mother’s and friends’ social media accounts were being targeted, while Instagram had removed dozens of her protest-related posts without offering an avenue for appeal.After she uploaded a satirical reel featuring RAF personnel, several anonymous meme pages and television channels falsely claimed Shradha had insulted the armed forces. She told Scroll that the video had been intended as a joke and not as an insult to the force.