A Kerala-based artist, who has been on the receiving end of social media abuse after her cartoons in support of the Kathua rape and murder victim did the rounds on the internet. More recently, an NDTV report says that the woman’s home in the state’s Palakkad district was stoned on Thursday night.
The artist, Durga Malathi, had sketched images of religious symbols, such as the trident, that resembled male genitalia smeared in blood. The sketches were widely circulated on social media, attracting heavy abuse. A number of people have claimed that her cartoons offended the sentiments of Hindus – a claim that she has denied.
"These drawings are not about religious symbols like Trishul, but about how the rapists think with their genitals. That's why in the Kathua victim's case she was raped inside a temple. These are men who think, act and play politics with their genitals. I am being accused of hurting Hindu sentiments. That is not true. It's not about Hindu religion at all," she told the news channel.
Responding to the comments on social media, Durga Malathi said that she had been ‘verbally raped’ by online trolls
The Kerala Police have filed a complaint against unidentified men for throwing stones at Durga Malathi's house.
The minor girl, who belonged to the nomadic Bakerwal Muslim community, had disappeared from near her home in the forests next to Rasana village in Kathua on January 10.
A week later, her body was found in the same area, and medical examination pointed towards sexual assault.
During initial investigations, police arrested a juvenile. Later, the case was transferred to Jammu and Kashmir Police's crime branch.
Two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and later, another five people, including a former revenue official and the alleged conspirator, who surrendered before the special investigation team, were among those arrested.
The state police crime branch, which probed the rape and killing of the girl, had filed a main charge sheet against seven people and a separate charge sheet against the juvenile in a court in Kathua district earlier this week.
Jammu has been on tenterhooks since the brutal incident. The bar associations have been opposing the action against the accused, alleging that the minority Dogras were being targeted.
Lawyers took to the streets shouting slogans and trying to block the road outside the court where the charge sheets have been filed.
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