Safoora Zargar is lodged in Tihar jail amid the Covid-19 outbreak and has been denied bail. She is three months pregnant.
Mohd Aasif | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Swati Maliwal Jai Hind, Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), issued a notice to Deputy Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police Special Cell, on May 6, regarding online abuse and character assassination of arrested research scholar of Jamia Millia Islamia Safoora Zargar.
Ever since her arrest on trumped-up charges, Safoora Zargar has become a victim of rightwing trolls. They are running an intemperate campaign of calumny against her that not only amounts to outraging her modesty but also spreading canards against her unborn child.
In an online campaign #SafooraZargar trending on Twitter, thousands of lewd comments were made against the hapless girl, though a section has come forward in her defend. These trolls were apparently emboldened by some lewd remarks over Safoora’s pregnancy made by no less a person than the well-known leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Kapil Mishra. This man is accused of instigating riots in Delhi.
#SafooraZargar is pregnant & in jail. Whether she is guilty or not, will be decided by court.
But the way trolls have outraged her modesty and vilified a pregnant woman’s character is shameful!
Issued Notice to Delhi Police Cyber Cell to imm take action against the trolls. pic.twitter.com/lpjFUCkVK1
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) May 6, 2020
Pregnant Safoora Zargar has been booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) linking her with Delhi riots. She was an active member of Jamia Coordination Committee and was part of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests organised by university students in December and January. Currently, she is under detention in Tihar Jail and is kept in isolation as reported in the media.
Swati said, “The case against her is sub-judiced and the law shall take its own course. However, the same does not give anyone the right to outrage her modesty and abuse her and her family.”
Impressing upon the seriousness of the matter, the Chairperson of DCW demanded that it should be taken up on priority. She demanded stringent action against the perpetrators. As the notice states, “This is a serious matter and the perpetrators must be brought to book. In view of the same.”
Seeking an action taken report from the police in the case, Ms. Swati listed the commission’s demand,
The commission has set a five-day deadline to finish the task. The notice states, “Considering the gravity of the matter, please provide the above said information latest by May 10, 2020.”