A 15-year-old student and her widowed mother fled their rented residence in India’s Greater Noida three days ago, following weeks of continuous online and physical harassment.
The escalation occurred after a video of the Class 10 student criticising Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi during a protest went viral on social media.
“The online and offline mob has driven us out of our home. She has apologised to the country, what more is left?” the mother asked, appealing to the public and authorities to stop pursuing her family.
She added that her daughter had made a mistake, acknowledged it and that the PM had already forgiven her. “I am raising my daughter alone. My husband died in an accident in 2019… How can we continue living there when people and the police keep coming to our house?”
The harassment intensified further after social media accounts began circulating side-by-side images of the teenager, using facial analysis tools to claim she was actually a 25-year-old woman using a younger relative to gain sympathy. The posts zoomed in on her eyes, ears, and dental features to question her age. The mother clarified that the girl has no elder or younger sister, only a 12-year-old brother, and she was born in 2011.
The incident originally began when the Class 10 student attended a demonstration organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
The teenager explained that she had gone to nearby Connaught Place with friends on July 23 to shop for her upcoming birthday when she came across the gathering. She joined the group and repeated derogatory language after being influenced by people at the site.
Following the viral video, the Noida Police registered a Zero FIR [First Information Report] under provisions for defamation, insult and public mischief, before transferring the matter to the Delhi Police.
The teenager later released an apology video stating that she felt deeply ashamed of her actions, calling it her first and last mistake. Indian PM Narendra Modi subsequently addressed the matter in a public message, stating that while such language came as a shock, he chose to forgive the children involved rather than drag them through court proceedings.
Despite the apology, unidentified individuals in vehicles continuously visited their residential complex, alongside multiple visits by police officers, prompting the mother who works as a private tutor to abandon her home and job.
The student has since stopped attending school and suspended her preparation for the Class 10 board examinations.
