A law student in Karnataka's Shivamogga has filed a police complaint after allegedly receiving a death threat over a WhatsApp display picture featuring freedom fighter Veer Savarkar. In a call recording, the caller is heard hurling abuses at the student referencing to the WhatsApp picture.
On November 6, the student, identified as Chandan, received a call on WhatsApp from an unknown number. The caller is said to have questioned Chandan for using Veer Savarkar's photo as his WhatsApp display picture, hurled abuses, and issued a death threat if he refused to remove the image.
Chandan stated that his display picture showed Veer Savarkar offering flowers to Bharat Mata (Mother India). The caller allegedly insulted Savarkar, saying he was not a freedom fighter but someone who "served the British," and warned Chandan to remove the photo.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar, is a polarising figure in India's freedom movement and the ideological architect of Hindutva.
Upon checking the caller's details, the number appeared to be registered under the name "Sheikh Kuwait."
The student has also recorded the entire call through another phone. The caller is heard hurling multiple abuses at the student citing the WhatsApp picture he had posted.
When repeatedly asked to reveal identity, the caller identified himself as Praveen.
A case has been registered at local police station, and an investigation is underway.
