Journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani and Filmmaker Vinod Kapri Face Online Threats, Abuse Over No-War Stance

New Delhi – Senior journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani and filmmaker Vinod Kapri have reported receiving threat calls and abusive messages, alleging that their phone numbers were leaked on the social media platform X.

Sherwani, a senior editor at The Wire, shared on X, “I’ve been doxxed. My private phone number and email were leaked on Twitter. For the past 24 hours, I’ve been receiving nonstop threatening messages and calls. This is harassment. This is dangerous. And this should not be tolerated.”

Similarly, Kapri, known for his socially impactful documentaries, posted on X about the harassment: “To those leaking my number, To those constantly calling me, To those relentlessly messaging me on WhatsApp, To those threatening to kill me, Listen carefully with your ears wide open!

The man who has never been scared of your masters, Will he be scared of cowards like you? For India, for the world, for the entirety of humanity, Whatever I find just, I will keep writing without hesitation or pretense. I was born in an army cantonment, I am the lion cub of a soldier. The first thing I saw when I came to my senses was ammunition. From childhood to youth, I lived among the army. From my father to every single member of my family, all are soldiers. When my father’s letters didn’t come from Siachen for three months at a time,No one can even imagine what the entire family went through. I don’t need a certificate of patriotism from anyone, Least of all from cowards like you who attack from hiding.

Do whatever you want, pull whatever strings you can. Every breath of mine, every voice of mine, is with truth and humanity. My army is my pride. I will write again, I will write boldly— War is a catastrophe.”

Kapri urged the Uttar Pradesh Police to take action against the abusers. The UP Police responded on X, stating, “An official complaint needs to be lodged at your cyber cell for appropriate action to be initiated.”

Both are reportedly being targeted for their vocal anti-war stance, advocating messages like “NoWar,” “Peace is patriotism,” “War is destruction,” and “Borders don’t bleed—people do. Deescalate NOW!!!” Many people have publicly expressed solidarity with them on X, condemning the harassment.