India: Bondita Acharya receives death threats
Event- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 4, 2017
- Event Description
On 10 April 2017, Bondita Acharya filed a complaint with the superintendent of police at the Criminal Investigation Department in Guwahati after she received death threats on social media for condemning the arrest of three people in Jorhat for possessing beef on 4 April 2017. Members of a right-wing Hindu organisation threatened the defender with death, gang rape and acid attack. A local Hindu group, Bajrang Dal, issued a press statement demanding that Bondita Acharya issue a public apology for condemning the arrests. Bondita Acharya also stated that the organisation asked people on social media to identify her house in Jorhat. The three people were arrested under the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, which lays down the conditions which permit the slaughtering of cattle. However, the State of Assam does not criminalise the possession of beef, and many people questioned the arrest on social media.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Online Attack and Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Extremist group
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 26.746520300000014
Longitude: 94.2025859
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 10 April 2017, human rights defender, Bondita Acharya, filed a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department in Guwahati, Assam state in Northeast India, after she was the target of violent threats on social media. After condemning the arrest of three people for the possession of beef on 4 April 2017, Bondita Acharya was threatened with death, rape and acid attacks by members of an extremist Hindu organisation.