Meena Kotwal

WHRD and Journalist

New Delhi

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on January 6, 2022 regarding negligence by the Delhi Police in registering FIR and not providing security after online abuse and threats to WHRD and Dalit journalist. She had complained of multiple death threats and abuses on phone.

On December 25, 2021, Ms. Meena Kotwal, had posted a video of herself burning the Manusmriti on the occasion of ‘Manusmriti Dahan Divas’ (Manusmriti Burning Day) to commemorate Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar’s. Since then, she began to receive violent threats by men claiming to be associated with Hindutva nationalistic groups like Bajrang Dal, Karni Sena, Vishwa Hindu Parishad. “You will suffer the same fate as Gauri Lankesh”, said multiple callers giving her the death threat.  The men demanded that she should remove the video which she had shared. When she refused, they threatened her with physical violence. Since then she has been continuously harassed by abuses on social media platforms, threats of violence, her social media accounts and phone numbers being hacked. A caller even claimed to be a policeman and others made casteist and threats of physical violence against her. 

On December 30, 2021, Ms. Kotwal filed a complaint with the Ambedkar Nagar Police Station in New Delhi, with details of the numbers she was being threatened and abused from and enclosing screenshots of the abuses and threats. The police made her sit for a long time and advised her on not to do such things instead of filing her complaint. 

According to the guidelines issued by the Delhi Police, a woman can lodge a complaint via email or registered post or even send a written complaint through an email or registered post addressed to a senior police officer of the level of Deputy Commissioner or Commissioner of Police. The officer then directs the SHO of the police station, of the area where the incident occurred, to conduct proper verification of the complainant and lodge an FIR. The police can then come over to the residence of the victim to take her statement. The FIR has to be filed and then an investigation takes place. However, so far no FIR has been lodged on Ms. Kotwal’s complaint.