The Mumbai Police has arrested a 23-year-old man from Hyderabad for giving rape threats to Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s minor daughter on microblogging site Twitter. The Police has taken the guy, who goes by the name Ramnagesh Srinivas Akubathini, has been taken into custody on November 10 (Wednesday).
The accused had issued rape threats to Kohli’s daughter after India’s humiliating 10-wicket defeat to arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. After several inquires, the Mumbai Police nabbed him in Hyderabad, who as per reports is a B-Tech graduate who worked in the software department of a food delivery platform.
Srinivas is being brought to Mumbai where he will be produced before a court with the police seeking further custody for investigation. The accused reportedly changed his Twitter handle and pretended to be a Pakistani user after cops started investigating screenshots of the threats.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had sent a notice to the Delhi Police seeking a response over rape threats made to Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s daughter on social media. The commission issued a statement calling the incident shameful.
“This is the time to stand behind our team, not against them. Even if India lost to Pakistan, the players and their families don’t deserve hatred,” DCW chief Swati Maliwal wrote to the Delhi Police. “I expect immediate registration of an FIR and arrests in the matter. Such people should be taught a lesson,” she added.
Incidentally, Virat Kohli was also targeted online for backing his teammate Mohammad Shami, who was at the receiving end of vicious racists troll on social media after a poor outing against Pakistan. Kohli stated that calling out someone on the basis of religion is the most pathetic thing one can do.
“Attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing one can do as a human. That is a very sacred and personal thing. People take out their frustration because they have no understanding of what we do,” he told reporters before the match against New Zealand.
