Chennai, Jan 21
Actress Kasthuri Shankar was among several people who expressed anger after feminist and singer Chinmayi put out a tweet through which she took a veiled swipe at a man who had committed suicide in Kerala after being falsely accused of harassing a woman on a bus.
On Tuesday, Chinmayi quoted a tweet put out by another user on a man being arrested in Dehradun for flashing at a woman and wrote, "Now if this man ends himself It is the fault of the woman that she was walking."
Although Chinmayi did not mention the Kerala bus incident or Deepak, the victim in the Kerala bus incident, in her tweet, it was evident from those who responded to Chinmayi's tweet that she was looking to compare the Dehradun incident with the Kerala Bus incident
Chinmayi's veiled attempt to defend the woman who put out the video that led to the death of the victim in the Kerala bus incident was called out by a number of people including actress Kasthuri, who wrote,"This heartless post made me sad and angry. What is this absurd comparison. You don't spare a guy even after he is dead? It is very worrying if one's universe has no men, only demons... and no women, only victims."
Other users responded to Chinmayi's post, asking her to first study the Kerala case and then comment on it. One user wrote, "This girl @Chinmayi is utter non sense, dude study the recent issue in kerala then speak up, don’t get that stupid toxic feminist angle in this issue !! Plz and thank you for you shitty tweet. (sic)"
Another user, responding to Chinmayi's tweet, wrote,"This is gaslighting 101. You cannot equate a criminal to a person who was trapped and maligned as one.The society trusts women more than men, but one can't deny that we are living in times where few women exploit societal trust and empathy for their personal gain.Whatever the case maybe, don't conclude too soon. Because if we encourage such blind discernment, things can get closer to home and we won't be able to save innocent men in our families."
For the unaware, Deepak, a resident of Govindapuram in Kozhikode, Kerala, died by suicide after a young woman, later identified as Shimjitha Musthafa of Vadakara, posted a video accusing him of sexually harassing her during a bus journey.
The visuals went viral, leading to intense public shaming.
His family and friends say Deepak was mentally shattered after the video spread rapidly across platforms.
Former Goa Governor and senior advocate P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, who visited Deepak’s family, alleged serious procedural lapses in the handling of the case.
He questioned why police initially registered the incident merely as an “unnatural death” despite the apparent link between the viral video and the suicide.
“Even a child can understand this is a case of abetment to suicide, a crime punishable with up to 10 years’ imprisonment,” he said, alleging that crucial facts were ignored during the inquest Police have since registered a fresh FIR on the basis of a complaint filed by Deepak’s mother, invoking charges of abetment to suicide.
