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Viral clip, humiliation, suicide: Kerala woman arrested after man she accused of sexual harassment dies
The woman, identified as Shimjitha Musthafa, had shared a video on social media alleging that the man, Deepak U, touched her inappropriately in the bus.
A social media influencer from Kerala was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the suicide of a 42-year-old man, days after she accused him of sexually harassing her on a public bus.
The woman, identified as Shimjitha Musthafa, had shared a video on social media alleging that the man, Deepak U, touched her inappropriately in the bus, NDTV reported.
Deepak was found dead at his home in Kozhikode two days after the video was posted. His family claimed he was innocent and could not cope with the humiliation caused by the online accusations.
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A viral video, followed by suicide
According to police, Shimjitha Musthafa and Deepak U were travelling on the same bus last week. Musthafa recorded a video accusing Deepak of sexually harassing her and uploaded it to her social media account.
On Sunday, Deepak’s parents found their only son hanging at their house in Kozhikode. The incident occurred two days after the video was recorded and shared online.
His family said Deepak was deeply distressed after the clip went viral. They told police that he had not eaten for two days, including Saturday, which was his birthday.
Police action
After Deepak’s death, Musthafa deleted the original video and later posted another clip defending herself. This second video was also later made private.
On Monday, police registered a case against the influencer for abetment of suicide. The Kerala State Human Rights Commission also took note of the incident and ordered a police inquiry. It directed the North Zone Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police to submit a report within a week.
