e-Paper
A man from Hyderabad has been arrested for making online rape threats to Indian cricketer Virat Kohli's 10-month-old daughter Vamika.
The accused is a 23-year-old software engineer from Hyderabad, reported ANI.
The Mumbai Police Cyber Cell identified the man as Ramnagesh Srinivas Akubathini and he was taken to Mumbai, where Kohli's manager had made a complaint.
Ramnagesh reportedly lives in rented accommodation and is a software engineer with a private firm. He previously worked for a food delivery app.
He allegedly issued the threat after India lost their match against Pakistan on Oct 24 in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Kohli was then the captain of the team.
The humiliating, 10-wicket loss prompted trolling of the Indian team, including the side's only Muslim player, Mohammed Shami, who was subjected to a storm of social media abuse.
Several former cricketers and Shami's teammates, including Kohli, denounced the hateful outpouring against the bowler.
Kohli called out "spineless" people on social media. "Attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing one can do as a human," he said.
"That is a very sacred and personal thing. People take out their frustration because they have no understanding of what we do.
"We're playing on the field, we're not a bunch of spineless people on social media. This has become a source of entertainment for some people which is very sad.
"All this drama created on the outside is based on people's frustrations. We stand by him 200 per cent. Our brotherhood in the team cannot be shaken."
Ramnagesh allegedly made the threat from Twitter account @Criccrazyygirl which was later deleted.
Screenshots of his tweets were shared widely on social media.
He allegedly changed his Twitter handle and pretended to be a Pakistani user after the police started investigating screenshots of the threats.
He is facing charges of sexual harassment, criminal intimidation, defamation and publishing obscene material.
"He has been detained and is being brought to Mumbai," a police officer told AFP on Wednesday.
Kohli is married to Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma and the couple welcomed their first child in January. There was national outrage over the sickening threats targeting their daughter.
The Mumbai police initially investigated several Twitter handles as Kohli and Anushka are residents of the city.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had also called for an investigation.
The panel gave notice to the Delhi police, asking to see an FIR (first information report), details of those identified and arrested and a detailed "action taken report".
Indo-Asian News Service
"He (Hyderabad techie Ramnagesh Srinivas Akubathini) has been detained and is being brought to Mumbai."
- A police officer
