February 22, 2025

Girish Maheshwari of Gujarat, like all other vicious trolls, was secure in the knowledge that the cover of anonymity would protect him from being discovered and prosecuted. He also knew that most people ignored trolls and seldom did anyone file a police complaint. Hence he used to troll people freely. But a few days back he picked on a wrong target. He trolled Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi. Although Chaturvedi is used to being trolled by the army of NDA supporters (and this is a very mild term I have used to describe them), this time she chose to fight back. For, Maheshwari had threatened to rape her minor daughter. I, for one, am extremely happy that she chose to file a police complaint in the matter. Ignoring trolls only emboldens them and if someone threatens you, the best course of action is to let the police know. Chaturvedi deserves applause for her action.

Maheshwari has been arrested by the Mumbai police from his home in Gujarat. This busts the cover trolls enjoy. It is possible to identify the sender of the tweet, despite him not choosing to disclose his identity, by the IP address that is used to send the tweet. Of course it requires cooperation from multiple agencies and companies and the police will only do it if it violates the law. In the case of Maheshwari, threatening to rape did violate multiple laws and he has been booked under POCSO Act, the IT Act and several provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The Mumbai and Delhi police also need to be commended for acting promptly and apprehending the offender, although it required a prod from the home minister Rajnath Singh who also needs to be thanked for taking it up. Although it is doubtful whether this one arrest would stop the trolls, at least a high-profile beginning has been made. I would advise MEA Sushma Swaraj to also lodge FIRs against those who trolled her viciously regarding the transfer of a passport officer recently. All others who are abused and threatened on social media should act similarly. A few more well-publicized arrests would go a long way in curbing the menace.

image coutesy: screen grab from NDTV