How The Kolkata Doctor’s Identity Is Sensationalised For Likes And Views (image-X/SanaFarzeen)

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, following a Supreme Court order, asked all social media platforms on August 21 to remove the name and photos of the 31-year-old Kolkata trainee doctor who was brutally raped and murdered in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

As India seethes with rage over the horrifying rape-murder case with doctors and citizens hitting the streets demanding strict laws and punishments for the accused, an unnerving occurrence has been taking place on social media platforms, especially Instagram.

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Countless number of accounts bearing the doctor’s name and photos can be found on the social media app. Many such profiles have posted personal photos of the victim and her family. One such profile has posted 12 photos of the doctor within five days. With each photo, hashtags such as “missyou,” “viral,” “trending,” and “photoshoot” are added to get clicks and likes.

Another such profile with the doctor’s name as the user handle includes a morphed photo of the victim on another woman’s body. The bio says “rape victim” and “comedian.”

However, the user doesn’t have any photos of the doctor. Instead, it features videos and photos of several women (that they may have posted on their profiles) with captions calling them “prostitutes” and “whores.” But the hashtags for all posts include the name of the victim.

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Another such profile has similar pictures of the victim and her family. Photos and reels of the crime scene and the victim’s dead body with crying emojis plastered on top of them reflect the perversive and voyeuristic minds of people. Does the dignity of the victim, even after death, not count for anything? It is a question worth thinking over.

A similar incident happened in the 2014 Badaun case when photos of the raped victims went viral, with even media houses publishing them without blurring or hiding their faces.

With a significant number of followers, the “digital creator’s” all 46 posts are the victim’s photo.

The disturbing trend highlights the sick depravity prevalent in Indian society. The rape and murder of the doctor has become a “trending idea” for people. Social media pages have been set up churning out content solely based on the victim and they have gained significant number of following as well. Using real-life violent tragedies with such (often times, wilful) ignorance for the sake of social media likes and followers reveals an unsettling phenomenon in the country.

The top court noted that photos and video clips of the body of the deceased circulating on social media are in direct violation of the Nipun Saxena judgement. In the 2108 ruling, the Supreme Court stated that no individual or entity is allowed to print, publish, or disclose the name of the victim or any other details that may give away their identity to the public.

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“The pictures and video clips of the body of the deceased have been circulating on social media… we direct that name, photographs, and video clippings of the deceased be immediately removed from all social media platforms,” the bench comprising Justices J. B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said.

“The identities of victims of rape should be protected, and the media, including the press, electronic, and social media, shall not reveal their identity,” said the court on August 19.

Such incidents also highlight the poor implementation of security measures to prevent and control the leak of a rape victim/survivor’s identity and the identity of their close ones from becoming public knowledge. Search engine Google has been flooded with disturbing queries, looking for videos and photos depicting the doctor’s last moments. Search terms like “Dr. ——- ——– CCTV video”, “Dr —— —— rape video”, “——- —— video” and “Dr——– ——- viral photo” flooded the web, exposing another side of the sick-perverted behaviour.

Read Also: India’s Ongoing Crisis With Women’s Safety

However, this isn’t an isolated incident. Throughout the years, sensationalism of sexual violence in India has been common. With news organisations spreading misinformation and publishing conspiracy theories and unverified claims or speculations in the hopes of a catchy headline and hits, it is but natural for the audience to imitate the same lack of privacy and sensitivity.