Well-known human rights activist John Dayal, who is being trolled by suspected right-wing activists for his comments on the social media, says he is facing an “organised” attack and suspects it is an attempt to silence the entire Christian community.
Dr. Dayal, secretary-general of the All-India Christian Council, came under a barrage of abusive comments after he tweeted on the arrest of the principal of St Xavier’s School, Mumbai, for allegedly molesting two minor students. Dr. Dayal had written that the owners of the school had connections with the ruling BJP.
His views against the meat ban further enraged the trolls who resorted to a personal attack, comparing him to paedophiles. His mobile number was posted online after which he received threatening calls.
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Dr. Dayal said experts told him that to create a trend, a particular word or catch phrase had to be tweeted a particular number of times in a small time-frame. “Within a three-hour time frame, I was trending,” he said.
“This campaign of abuse is directed not only at me but at the Christian community in general and there appears to be a deliberate and concerted attempt to prejudice religious harmony and hurt the sentiments of the Christian community and other Indians as well,” he wrote in a complaint to Delhi Commissioner of Police B.S Bassi.
Mumbai-based human rights and civil activist groups have issued a joint statement expressing solidarity with Mr. Dayal and demanded that he be provided police protection immediately. They also called for the arrest of the elements that issued online threats.
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Mr. Dayal is no stranger to attacks on social media. During the nation-wide debate on death penalty for Yakub Memon, Bollywood singer Abhijeet had tweeted that Dr. Dayal deserved to be physically assaulted for demanding reprieve for the 1993 blasts convict.