Kannada filmmaker threatened with rape, acid attack, for endorsing beef consumption

Bengaluru: As countrywide protests over "rising intolerance" continued, a woman Kannada filmmaker and writer has been threatened with 'dire consequences' on social media after she endorsed beef consumption and questioned Hindu practises, a senior police official said.

Reports in media had claimed that Chetana Thirthahalli was threatened with rape and acid attack. She has lodged a complaint with Hanumanthnagar police station, seeking action against an individual, Madhusudan Gowda, for threatening her with dire consequences, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) B S Lokesh Kumar said.

"The threat comes after she had endorsed beef consumption and questioned Hindu practises on social media," he said. However, when asked if she had mentioned about reported threat of rape or acid attack against her in the complaint, he said "no."

Chetana, who has written articles in various publications questioning Hindu customs, had taken part in a rally here recently to support beef consumption. In the latest incident in Karnataka, young Dalit writer Huchangi Prasad was allegedly attacked by unidentified men for his "anti-Hindu" writings at Davangere in central Karnataka on Wednesday.

The complaint was lodged by Chetana last week wherein she alleged that she started receiving threat messages on the social media after endorsing beef consumption. Chetana also said she had been receiving threat messages on the social media for the last one year but did not take them seriously. However, after the killing of Kannada writer and rationalist M M Kalburgi in August, she approached police.

Kalburgi was shot dead by two men at his residence at Dharwad in north Karnataka, with the assassins still remaining elusive. "Chetana has been receiving the threat messages from the past one year but did not take them seriously. She approached us following Kalburgi's killing," Kumar said. Hanumanthnagar police are investigating the case, he said.

Kalburgi's murder followed by the Dadri lynching incident involving a Muslim over beef-eating rumours has triggered protests by writers, with several of them announcing returning their Sahitya Akademi awards to protest "rising intolerance".