Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli’s 10-month-old daughter is allegedly the victim of a threat to rape. The threat was made after the team’s dismal performance in the 2019 T20 World Cup.
Hyderabad, a southern city, was the site of his arrest on Wednesday. Following back-to-back losses of its matches in the ongoing tournament, the Indian team has been subjected to an avalanche of online abuse. In the aftermath of India’s loss to arch-rival Pakistan, trolling seems to have begun.
In a World Cup, India lost to Pakistan for the first time. Indian fans were shocked and angry when the team dropped out of the tournament after entering as clear favourites. A cricket match often sparks tensions between India and Pakistan due to their frosty relations.
Muhammad Shami, the only Muslim member of the Indian cricket team, was bitterly abused and trolled online after the game against Pakistan ended. Some people labelled him a traitor in social media for intentionally giving runs to the Pakistani team.
The Indian team stood “200%” behind Shami after Kohli spoke out against the constant trolling of the Pakistani. He said, “spineless people” on social media were attacking Shami over his religion.
He and his wife, Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma, received angry messages after his comments. Her performance for the Indian side has also been blamed on her in the past by some fans.
In a press conference before the match with New Zealand, Virat Kohli told reporters, “Twisting someone’s religion is the pathetic thing a human can do. That is something very sacred and personal. People vent their frustration because they have no understanding of what we do.”
The vast majority of trolling – especially targeting women – is reported as violent and graphic, with few arrests. It has been reported that the arrest of Kohli and Sharma in Mumbai is connected to an investigation into several Twitter accounts accused of making disparaging remarks about them.
In response to an anonymous rape threat, Kohli’s manager had filed a police report. The Delhi Commission of Women also sent a notice to the Delhi Police regarding the threat against the toddler.
The 23-year-old arrested is an engineer who lives in Hyderabad, according to local media reports. Virat Kohli’s daughter Vamika was reportedly threatened, according to reports. He changed his Twitter name to represent himself as a Pakistani after screenshots of his alleged rape threat went viral. A fact-checking site later revealed that he was Indian.
The way things are going on social media has become a tool for entertainment for some people, which is very sad. All this drama is just a result of frustrations that people have, and we stand by him 100 per cent”, Kohli said.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has taken note of Virat’s daughter.
As a result of India’s defeat in the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, “heinous threats” were sent to Virat Kohli’s 9-month-old daughter on social media. The Delhi Commission had previously threatened Virat Kohli and his family for Women.
The DCW President Swati Maliwal described the incident as “shameful” and demanded that the accused be arrested immediately. Commission members urged the police to send a copy of the police report in the case and respond to it before November 8, in addition to recommending the police do so. 
As a result of media reports about threats made against Virat Kohli’s family, the Delhi Commission for Women took action on its initiative, the commission said in its notice. “It was reported that he was also threatened since he spoke out against the constant trolling of Md. Shami, who had been online trolled for his religion.”
Article Proofread and Edited by Shreedatri Banerjee
