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A day after Telugu content creator Ajay Radha Kumar was doxed by a Hindutva digital creator, his account was suspended by Instagram on Wednesday, August 5 for not following Instagram’s “Terms of Use on intellectual property.” Ajay, a 23-year-old content creator who has amassed over 1 lakh followers, is well known in the Telugu media landscape for posting feminist, Ambedkarite content.
Over the past few weeks, Ajay has been posting videos related to the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests and public dissatisfaction with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government. He has also posted videos criticising the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government’s push for data centres and the privatisation of medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh.
Since Saturday, August 1, a Hindutva digital creator identified as TD Rakesh Sharma has made a series of videos criticising Ajay.
“I can only assume this is in response to a video I did regarding posters at the CJP protest where PM Narendra Modi’s face was morphed and affixed on women’s bodies,” Ajay, a Dalit residing in Hyderabad, told TNM. In his video, Ajay is criticising the posters for the underlying sexism of correlating the Prime Minister’s inefficiency with womanhood.
In response to that video, Rakesh Sharma posted another stating that Ajay could lodge a complaint against him to the police if he wanted to. “But then you also have to explain how you justified PM Modi being presented as a woman,” Rakesh said. It is unclear how Rakesh arrived at this conclusion, as Ajay’s video does not justify the posters in question.
“He doesn’t seem to understand what I was saying. I spoke in Telugu, but still it was lost on him and other right-wing supporters,” Ajay said.
In a second video published on Sunday, August 2, Rakesh can be seen abusing Ajay for criticising PM Modi and Andhra Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan.
Things, however, took a turn on Monday, August 3, when Rakesh put out a reel on Instagram accusing him of duping women.
“He (Ajay) targeted women students at law colleges and converted one such Hindu woman in Badhrachalam into an atheist,” Rakesh can be seen saying. Ajay told TNM that the woman in question was a friend of his who had her own political views. Rakesh also accused Ajay of making ‘anti-Hindu videos’ and made casteist remarks against him.
But without stopping there, Rakesh put Ajay’s phone number on the video.
“On Monday evening alone between 6 pm and 12:30 am, I got at least 100-120 calls,” Ajay told TNM. “I started to block them because I kept getting calls and messages incessantly,” he said. TNM also saw a few screenshots sent to Ajay which included messages from strangers abusing Ajay, his family and making outright casteist and communal remarks.
Addressing the doxing, Ajay added that Rakesh had put out a lot of information about his identity. “A lot of information about me is factually incorrect. For instance, he said my mother is a Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) member, which is untrue, and made misleading statements about my family,” Ajay added.
Following the doxing, Ajay approached the Panjagutta police station to register an FIR. While Ajay’s complaint petition has been noted, the FIR is yet to be lodged. Rakesh also posted further videos accusing Ajay of “using women” and making further videos on Ajay’s caste location.
At the time of writing this article, Rakesh has posted 11 videos targeting Ajay.
