‘I WAS SHAKEN INITIALLY, BUT I WILL FIGHT HIM’

Incessant lewd texts and obscene calls that Sushmita Sinha, 22, started getting on March 11, the day the BJP won the Uttar Pradesh polls, forced her to complain to the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and seek counselling.

She was being trolled by an acquaintance from her home town Patna for her political views. Sinha had arguments with the man for three years. The threats began after BJP swept Uttar Pradesh.

The phone recordings, some of which Sinha shared with HT, are filthy abuses and threats. “The first call came at 1 am, and the language he used shocked me. We used to have debates on Facebook and by phone conversations, but this time he got abusive and threatened to kill me and my Muslim friends,” said Sinha.

Initially, she thought it would end on its own, but the man kept calling and texting through the night.

“I couldn’t sleep. I blocked his number but he started threatening from other numbers... I am preparing for the entrance exam for my Masters in journalism but the texts keep playing in my head, making it impossible to concentrate on my studies,” she said.

Sinha put up the details of the conversations, including an audio clip on Facebook, but the site removed her posts because they were objectionable. “...(But) the threats didn’t stop,” she said.

Sinha lodged a complaint with DCW. Last week, she spent the evening with DCW counsellors. “They offered help in lodging an FIR,” said Sinha. The police are investigating the case. Since Sinha lives alone in Delhi, her family fears for her safety and wants her to drop the matter. But she is determined to see it through. “I was shaken initially but I’m convinced such people shouldn’t be let scot-free... I’ll fight him,” she said.