KOLKATA: An author, who is also a government officer, has complained to Kolkata Police and CID on Friday after receiving rape threats for lodging an official complaint against a person who had circulated a meme with her morphed picture and informed his employer about that incident.
On Thursday, the accused had apologized to her, prompting the woman to withdraw her police complaint. Since then, however, she has been flooded with obscene comments from other meme makers who have questioned why she made an issue of this incident. On Friday, she officially complained to Kolkata Police and CID and tweeted to the chief minister seeking help. Chandernagore Police Commissionerate and West Bengal Women’s Commission are looking into the matter.
“It’s illegal to morph a person’s image without consent. I’m open to criticism of my work. But I understand the difference between criticism and malice. I won’t tolerate the way my reputation is being maligned with sexually abusive comments,” she said.
Chanderagore commissioner Arnab Ghosh said, “We had earlier taken steps on this. I will look into this matter now.” Chairperson of West Bengal Women’s Commission Leena Gangopadhyay said, “She should not have withdrawn the first complaint. In future, even if she backs out, we will take suo motto cognizance of the situation and act accordingly.”
