Freelance journalist and avid blogger who posted a blog entry “supporting’ Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja – accused of raping his domestic help – received several threatening calls and emails on Tuesday.
Says Flynn Remedios, “While most of the threatening calls were from agitated women some of them were from men who either had some political background or were hardliner rightists. I have discounted most of them except for one or two calls which threatened me with serious bodily harm and one of them with death if I continued to ‘support’ Shiney Ahuja.”
Remedios also received several emails lambasting him for his ‘support’ for Ahuja, some of them very vulgar and offensive.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday evening, Flynn Remedios said, “As a journalist - and particularly one who has covered the crime and legal beat – I wanted to present some facts and views that came up. I am not Shiney Ahuja’s PRO or publicist. The law presumes every accused is innocent until convicted or proven guilty by a proper process of trial. These days some people can go to any extent to extort money and even ‘scream’ rape. I am not defending nor am I condemning anybody through my article.
In about 15 years of reporting, I have come across cases wherein drugs, contraband or arms have been ‘planted’ on innocent persons out of rivalry or enmity. I have come across several situations where false FIRs are registered and innocent accused arrested. Sections of the IPC like 376 (rape), 498 (harassment for dowry, etc), 354/509 (sexual harassment) and even 420 (cheating) are the most misused. The police machinery has been used as a ‘recovery’ or ‘revenge’ mechanism time and again. Domestics or employees have accused their employers of sexual harassment to avenge a demotion or transfer and employers have accused their employees of theft. I have been a first hand witness to a high profile case wherein a highly educated software engineer in an IT firm was accused of Data theft, hacking, etc merely because he decided to quit his job and join another firm.
Some persons have been accused of murders they did not commit. Shiney Ahuja has no prior record of violence or misbehavior. He was known and portrayed as a doting father and a good family man. Even if he did commit the heinous crime, there must have been some provocation or circumstances that got him into it.”
Flynn Remedios’ article suggesting a third character in the Shiney Ahuja rape case can be found at http://futuristicmedianetwork.blogspot.com. He has handed copies of all the threatening emails and details of the phone calls to the police who are expected to register an FIR after scrutinizing the available evidence.
