Days after BIG TV journalist Aparna Kurup approached the police over death threats and sustained cyberbullying following a television debate on women’s rights, she has now been booked by the Kochi Cyber Crime Police over remarks she made during the same show.
The FIR was registered on Monday, September 7, against Aparna, a senior coordinating editor and news anchor with BIG TV, following a complaint by Abdul Hakeem B M, a resident of Kasaragod. She has been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Kerala Police Act.
The FIR lists Sections 192 (provocation to riot), 299 (outraging religious feelings), 302 (wounding religious feelings) and 353(2) (promoting enmity) of the BNS, along with Section 120(o) (causing nuisance) of the Kerala Police Act. However, its concluding portion refers to Section 351(1) (criminal intimidation) instead of Section 353(2).
The case relates to remarks Aparna made while discussing statements by Sunni Muslim cleric Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar that women should not share public platforms with unrelated men and should stay away from such public spaces.
The FIR alleges that Aparna referred to people who consider it permissible under the teachings of the Quran for men to consume cannabis, be arrested in an MDMA case or engage in sexual misconduct. The police allege that the remarks were made in a manner that could deliberately hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims and lead to a breach of peace or communal disturbance.
The complaint was initially emailed to the Superintendent of Police, Cyber Operations, on September 3. It was subsequently forwarded to the Kochi City Police Commissioner and then to the Cyber Crime Police Station, where it was registered as a petition before the FIR was filed.
The case comes days after Aparna approached the police alleging that she was facing death threats and intense cyberbullying following a BIG TV debate on Kanthapuram’s remarks about women.
During the debate, Aparna strongly criticised Kanthapuram’s comments that women should not share public spaces with unrelated men. Her introductory remarks triggered backlash, with several social media users accusing her of making statements against Islam and Muslim clerics.
BIG TV and Aparna subsequently issued an unconditional apology on September 1, saying that certain remarks made during the discussion should have been avoided and expressing regret if they had hurt anyone’s religious sentiments or beliefs.
The apology, however, did not stop the online attacks against Aparna. She told TNM that fake social media profiles had circulated her address and details of people living with her, while photographs of her family were also used in threats.
Aparna said she had faced cyberbullying earlier, including from political groups and right-wing organisations, but that the latest episode was different because her family was being targeted. She also said she had received threatening messages, including references to the 2010 attack on Malayalam professor TJ Joseph, whose hand was chopped off by members of the Popular Front of India.
The Cyber Crime Police in Thiruvananthapuram had registered an FIR based on Aparna’s complaint over the threats.