A First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the police in late January after journalist Rana Ayyub fell victim to numerous abusive comments on her social media platforms.
The first arrest was made by the cybercrime police from Bhopal, based on her complaint on receiving death threats. Ayyub tweeted expressing her gratitude towards the Mumbai police for their swift action.
“Mumbai cybercrime has made the first arrest in the rape and death threats issued to me. A young man has been arrested from Bhopal for giving me death threats. Hugely impressed with the alacrity of @MumbaiPolice and@CPMumbaiPolice who had promised me justice without delay,” Ayyub tweeted on Thursday.
While urging other women to come forward and bravely fight perpetrators, she said that she was assured by the police that the other instigators would soon be nabbed.
“I have been told that the other perpetrators and instigators will also be arrested shortly. I would take this moment to urge other women to come forward and fight this harassment and intimidation. We are equally responsible in creating a safe space for women,” she had tweeted.
Ayyub had earlier said that she had received over 26 thousand abusive tweets, rape, and death threats, from right-wing members, alleging that she was a “terror-sympathiser”.
On January 25, Ayyub had tweeted, “26.4 thousand tweets, most are abusive, rape and death threats, calling me a terror sympathiser. Most tweets are by the Indian right-wing & Saudi nationalists who are attacking me after I posted a tweet in solidarity with Yemen and calling out the Saudis. Hello @TwitterIndia.”