Condemning the online abuse and misogyny directed at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni and his child, the Maharashtra Youth Congress (MYC) on Saturday asked the television channels to stop immediately broadcasting the minor's name and pictures to protect her privacy.
In a statement issued here, MYC president Satyajeet Tambe said: “Maharashtra Youth Congress stands against the reprehensible online abuse and misogyny directed at Mr. MS Dhoni and his child”.
“In this case as well in other incidents, the criminal threat of rape is being used as a weapon intimidate and humiliate a professional and his family by targeting the most vulnerable member, a young girl,” Tambe said.
Tambe went on to request that she immediately stop broadcasting the minor's name and pictures to protect her privacy. “The fact that her name and pictures feature on her parent's instagram accounts does not give the media the licence to broadcast it on national TV,” he said.
The MYC chief said that the disclosure of the minor girl’s identity was absolutely prohibited as per the absolute bar put on the media revealing a victim's name as per the Supreme Court Judgment in Nipun Saxena & Anr v. Union of India & Ors delivered on December 11, 2018.
It may be recalled that the threats to Dhoni’s 5-year-old daughter appeared on Dhoni and his wife Sakshi's Instagram accounts after CSK was defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an IPL fixture held on Wednesday last.
Hate messages started pouring in after CSK failed to chase down the target of 168 set by KKR at that IPL match held at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.