A journalist in Jammu is being targeted with hate speeches and death threats for merely writing, “I stand with Nupur Sharma” in a tweet.

Ashish Kohli, who is an independent journalist and posts his work on his YouTube channel, recently wrote on Twitter, “People on social media are giving rape and beheading threats to @NupurSharmaBJP which is not acceptable. #IsupportNupurSharma.”

The tweet unleashed a barrage of abuses and hate propaganda against Kohli. Many social media accounts, mostly with the word ‘Kashmir’ in their names, cropped out his tweet to only show the line “I stand with Nupur Sharma” and circulated it.

Three days ago, two persons named Shamsher Khan and Muzzaffar Malik gave a complaint to Pacca Danga Police Station in Jammu, asking the police to lodge an FIR against Kohli for “hurting the sentiments of Muslims by supporting insulting comments of Nupur Sharma”.

The complaint letter reads, “That it is respectfully submitted that one Ashish Kohli, reporter of JK Media [Facebook portal] who claims to be a journalist posted the following material on his Twitter handle: ‘I stand with Nupur Sharma’.”

The complaint further says, “…by supporting Nupur Sharma [Ashish Kohli] has committed the same offences as was committed by her.”

This complaint was followed by more such complaints to the police. The propaganda did not stop at hate messages and police cases.

On 9 January, a video surfaced of a cleric addressing a large gathering from a mosque, using a loudspeaker, where he said this (as translated by Swarajya):

“These people who drink cow urine and bathe in dung [referring to Hindus] cannot exist if it were not for us [referring to Muslims]. They get air to breathe because of us. They get water because of us. What else is their existence worth? My brothers, we are silent till we are keeping our patience. Once our patient is lost, then, be it Nupur Sharma or the dog that is Ashish Kohli, will be beheaded…If the administration cannot catch them, then we are ready to cut their throats (sic).”

Video shows the crowd that is listening to him erupting with chants of “Gustaakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza sar tan se juda [there is only one punishment for blaspheming Mohammed and that is beheading]”.

Watch the video here.

Kohli told this correspondent that he received the threatening video on his phone. He said that over the past three days, he had received more than 50 threatening calls from unknown numbers.

Swarajya tried to contact Bhaderwah police, but the number mentioned on the website of Jammu and Kashmir Police is not operational.

However, an update was posted on Twitter by police on the same day.

It said, “Action under law taken. Case FIR No. 92/2022 U/S 295-A, 506 IPC stands registered at Police Station Bhaderwah. Anyone who takes law into their hands will not be spared.”

Ashish Kohli

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