‘I apologised, threats did not stop’: After Jantar Mantar protest, women face doxxing, calls to 'teach them a lesson'

Published 30 July 2026 · local

Soon after the Jantar Mantar protest ended on July 25, Shradha Singh, 23, an M.Sc. student, posted a seven-second reel on her Instagram account, which

Soon after the Jantar Mantar protest ended on July 25, Shradha Singh, 23, an M.Sc. student, posted a seven-second reel on her Instagram account, which has 3.78 lakh followers. Within an hour, the video had crossed a million views before she deleted it. Five days and two apologies later, she says she is still receiving rape and death threats. The video, which Ms. Singh said was meant for “entertainment purposes”, shows her at the protest site with Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel in the background, overlaid with a Harpic ad jingle. It was soon reposted by meme pages and social media accounts alleging that she had insulted the Army, prompting her to delete it within an hour. Three days later, she posted two apology videos. But the threats, she said, have not stopped. ‘Teach them a lesson’ Singh is not alone. The Hindu has verified multiple instances of women who participated in the Jantar Mantar protest being subjected to online harassment, including doxxing, rape threats, and the circulation of personal information. Videos and photographs of women who attended the protest or gave social media bytes have been shared by several X and Instagram handles urging their followers to “teach them a lesson”. One woman was declared “most wanted” in a post that said a “search is on” and sought information about her whereabouts. By Thursday (July 30, 2026) afternoon, posts claiming she had been identified were circulating online, carrying her name, city, and a copy of a zero FIR registered in Noida under Sections 352, 353(1), and 356(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

In the purported video, the woman is alleged to have “abused” Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Instagram user Anoop Khetan, who has 1.6 million followers, shared a video first claiming that the woman declared “most wanted” had been identified and that multiple FIRs had been filed against her. Abuse and harassment Singh said she has been dealing with threatening calls and messages “every other minute”. One comment under her post read: “If I see you somewhere, I will kill you.” “It has been five days, and accounts keep reposting my video and apology. This is not trolling anymore; it is abuse and harassment. My phone number and address have been circulated. I cannot repeat the kind of messages my mother received. I had to remove her Instagram account,” she told The Hindu. Singh also alleged that some accounts had refused to take down her video when approached. “They told me they had been paid to post it and would not remove it. I realised I was just a tool to propagate the agenda of these accounts. They want to teach me how to be respectful while saying vile things to me and my family,” she said. ‘Did not insult the Army’ Singh said she had realised shortly after uploading the reel that some viewers found it disrespectful, and so she had deleted it. “People are saying I insulted the Army. I did not. The personnel in the video were RAF.