Kamra, Swara, Richa Chadha unite; demand arrest of abuser over rape threats

Swara Bhasker, Richa Chadha, Kunal Kamra and Onir staged an outrage against a troller named Shubham Mishra, who issued rape threats to a comedian named Agrima Joshua.

In an old video, standup comedian Agrima Joshua joked about the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. A Shiv Sena leader called for her arrest and this kick-started a hate campaign against her. After seeing this chaos on social media, she deleted the video and even apologised for her statements. But she could put a stop to the hate messages which included trollers sending her death and rape threats.

'Does a joke however offensive justify this kind of a public threat to a woman?'

Standup comedian Kunal Kamra tagged the official account of the National Commission for Women (NCW) and tweeted a video featuring a person named Shubham Mishra who issued rape threats against Agrima Joshua. He captioned it with, "Dear @NCWIndia does this concern you, we see this scumbag give open threats to a female comedian who has already apologised & taken her objectionable video down..."

Kunal Kamra shared another video and wrote, "Look what the Scumbag Shubham Mishra who made rape threats to a female comedian for her Objectionable joke, here's him using Maratha King Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad's name in a very objectionable manner. His respect for National hero's & intentions is questionable... This man is from Vadodara @Vadcitypolice, @NCWIndia can we hope to arrest #shubhammishra by EOD today?"

Kunal Kamra was joined by other celebs like Richa Chadha, Onir and Swara Bhasker, who urged police and NCW to take action against him. Filmmaker Onir tweeted, "@CPMumbaiPolice why this silence? You are generally prompt when it comes to something as reprehensible as this. @CMOMaharashtra @AUThackeray please intervene. We cannot let our state sink to this level."

Bollywood actress Richa Chadha tweeted, "If you're offended by this if you don't think you want to raise your kids in a land where ppl can issue rape threats and embolden others to do worse, go report this account so that the platform takes note. report under: violent threat. Thank you.

Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker, who is also a social activist, tweeted, "Sir Instagram influencer by name Shubham Mishra/ Badass Shubham in video posted on @instagram threatened publicly 2 rape #AgrimaJoshua & has incited other men to do same. As a woman living in Maharashtra I feel unsafe that an admitted rapist is roaming free! Pls look into it "

Swara Bhasker added, "Respected @AnilDeshmukhNCP sir Does a joke, however, offensive justify this kind of a public threat to a woman? This Shubham Mishra is issuing a public threat 2 rape & inciting others 2 do so. A clear offence under Section 503 IPC. Can u pls ask @MumbaiPolice 2 take action, sir?

NCW takes cognisance of the issue

The NCW took the note of issues and assured to get him punished. It tweeted, "@NCWIndia has been tagged on this video by @kunalkamra88 where a man can be heard hurling abuses and giving open threats to a female comedian. #NCW is committed to creating a safe online space for women. We'll take action and ensure that this man gets the strictest punishment possible."

NCW added, "Keeping in line with #NCW's commitment towards ensuring safety of #women online, our Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to @dgpgujarat for taking immediate action against Shubham Mishra, the man hurling abuses against a female comedian in this video. @kunalkamra88 @SaketGokhale"