A young woman entrepreneur has accused Washington Post columnist and financial fraud suspect Rana Ayyub of sending abusive trolls after her, who not only threatened her but also caused her grave mental stress.
Divya Gandotra Tandon, a 20-year-old Youtuber and journalist who hails from Jammu & Kashmir, has alleged that Rana Ayyub has unleashed her abusive supporters after her, who are threatening her with life and that if anything happens to her, only Rana is should be held responsible for that.
Divya took to Twitter and said, “One follower of Rana Ayyub is sending me Death threats on my WhatsApp number and he is also messaging my personal contacts over WhatsApp and spreading false narrative about me and my work.” “If anything happens to me then only Rana Ayyub will be responsible for it,” Divya further added with some screenshots in subsequent tweets.
If anything happens to me then only Rana Ayyub will be responsible for it.
— Divya Gandotra Tandon (@divya_gandotra) September 11, 2022
OpIndia contacted Divya to know more about the issue and the nature of threats and abusive messages she is receiving allegedly at the behest of Rana Ayyub. Divya told that she is facing these threats since January this year after her company made a video on Rana Ayyub.
“I am facing such abuses and trolls since January after my venture Scoop Beats made a video on her. She even filed an FIR on us and got a couple of my teammates arrested. It is soon after that I started to get random calls and WhatsApp messages. She then got my name in the case included even though I had no appearance in the video,” Divya said.
Divya said that the company took down the video days after the complaint but the threats and abuses continued. Rana Ayyub even took to Twitter to celebrate the arrest of two of her teammates. She mentioned in a subsequent tweet that the owner of Scoop Beats, i.e., Divya, will soon face action.
Divya further said that she was summoned to Mumbai in the case and was interrogated for days. Meanwhile, the abusive messages and threat call continued. “I was so disturbed by these things so I filed a complaint with the police and got an FIR registered against unknown persons for mentally harassing me and threatening me with life. I even mentioned the name of Rana Ayyub in the supplementary details to the investigating officer,” Divya further continued adding that even her contacts are now receiving filthy messages concerning her.
She went on to add, “I don’t know how my WhatsApp contacts are receiving messages from the same numbers. It seems my phone has been hacked. I am fearful of my life and if anything happens to me then Rana Ayyub is to be single-handedly held responsible.”
Divya shared the screenshots of the messages she is receiving and the copies of the FIR and supplementary details.
In the FIR filed by Divya on June 20, she stated, “Almost every day, the accused makes sexually abusive and indecent statements/ remarks about my body parts, character, and physical appearance, among other things. which have repeatedly outraged my modesty as a woman and caused considerable harassment and mental anguish to me repeatedly.”
“On a daily basis, the Accused has been threatening me and making repeated requests for ransom with the intent of illegally obtaining my hard-earned money. The accused is openly and publicly abusing me and spreading rumours about me to everyone who knows me. Apart from this, the accused is also publishing objectionable content about me on several social media platforms from fake accounts resembling my real name,” the complaint made by her further reads.
Divya told OpIndia that she is terrified of everything and that she is unable to focus on her profession and maintain a balance in her life. She stated that she is the child of a single mother hailing from Jammu. The hateful texts and threats, she added, not only disrespected her modesty as a woman but also brought her constant harassment and mental distress. She is apprehensive of physical harm from the accused in near future.
