Controversial ‘Journalist’ Rana Ayyub has demanded police protection alleging that she has been receiving threats from Canada. She has claimed she has been receiving messages on WhatsApp from a Canadian number, threatening to kill her and her husband, if she does not write an article glorifying the assassins of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on Washington Post, where she is a columnist.
Ayyub added that the person sending the threats have the image of Lawrence Bishnoi as the display picture, indicating that the notorious gang might be behind the threats. The caller whose name was listed as Harry Shooter, posted her address and location of her father when he was travelling, indicating that the gang is following the family. He claimed to be the member of a Khalsa group. They also made four videos calls to her, Rana Ayyub alleged.
As per her, it all began after she made an Instagram post on 2nd November remembering the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom and the 1992 Mumbai riots. While her post was about 1992 riots, saying that her Muslim family was protected by a Sikh family from rioters, she had added, “Ironic that I am sharing this on the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom.”
She added in the post, “Injustice begets injustice. If 1984 had been given justice, the perpetrators of 1992 — who destroyed my childhood, would not be sitting in the highest echelons of power.” Rana Ayyub posted this text along with her childhood photo on Instagram.
After that on 4th November, she posted on Instagram saying “Something incredibly frightening took place on the night of November 2. I received several calls from a Canadian number claiming to be associated with a Khalsa group. The display picture on the number was that of Lawrence Bishnoi. The caller asked me to immediately publish an op-ed in The Washington Post about Indira Gandhi and to glorify her assassins.”
Ayyub added in the post, “He further wrote that this was not a request but a warning, and mentioned my residential address, saying he would send sharpshooters to my place “to celebrate.” He added that I should not be under the illusion that my father would be safe either. My parents are currently travelling for a wedding, and I was shocked that he knew about their whereabouts. He said he would send shooters to kill my father. The fact that my parents are travelling to the wedding to this city is known only to my immediate family members.
She further added, “I blocked the number and reached out to the police. They came home and deployed two officers for the night and sent police officers to meet my parents. I urge the Navi Mumbai police to investigate this with the urgency it deserves and register an FIR against the culprits. As a journalist, i would like to be able to do my journalism in a free and fair manner without having to live in fear in our great democracy.”
In a video, she demanded police protection at least for few days, and to investigate the case. Saying that she is scared for her family, Rana Ayyub said it is clear that someone is doing a surveillance on her family, and she need to know who they are.
As per reports, Koparkhairne police station in Navi Mumbai has registered a case under Section 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for criminal intimidation. The police said they are conducting a forensic investigation on the basis of the non-cognisable offence registered in the matter.
Police said that the call was made using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), and as it was a Canadian number, there will be challenges in identifying the caller.
Even if identified, there may not be any action, as Canadian government is sympathetic to Khalistanis. The Khalistani activists in Canada regularly glorify the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and issue threats of similar assassination of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and S Jaishankar, with Canadian govt refusing to take any action.