Geethanjali faced abuses from around 60 social media handles; 2 arrested

Guntur: Guntur police arrested two persons, Rambabu Pasumarthi (46) and Venkat Durga Rao (31), in connection with the suicide of 32-year-old Geethanjali.

On March 11, Geethanjali died by suicide in Tenali after she faced severe political trolling on social media handles. On Thursday, the police arrested two persons who were responsible for trolling and posting abusive comments about Geethanjali and her family members.

A local TDP leader Rambabu Pasumarthi was also arrested in connection with her death. On Thursday, the police went to his residence in Vijayawada and arrested him for making abusive comments from his social media handle against Geethanjali

Addressing the media on Thursday, Guntur SP Tushar Dudi said, “Based on the call data of Geethanjali, we have understood that on the day she attempted suicide, she spoke to six close members. In every phone call, she spoke about how people were trolling and making abusive comments about her and her family. Some of her family members during the conversation even advised her to report to the police.”

“The loco pilot of the train statement clearly said that he tried to save her when he saw her on the tracks and it was a clear case of suicide,” the police added.

The police said that Geethanjali was offered a job at a government school and her interview was scheduled for March 7. However, she refused to go for the interview when her husband asked.

“Even on the day of her death, many posted abusive comments. The investigation revealed that of about 100 social media accounts, around 60 accounts posted vulgar comments on Geethanjali and her family,” said the SP.

The police said that more individuals have been identified based on their social media accounts and the investigation is on.

Geethanjali, a mother of two children, came into the spotlight after she was recognised as a beneficiary of the Jagananna Housing Scheme. She was given a plot for free under the scheme during a public program, and elated over this, Geethanjali praised chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government on camera for making her dream a reality.

Following this, she was subjected to severe trolling and comments on social media from many pages. On March 7, at around 11 am, Geethanjali attempted suicide by standing before an oncoming train. Though the train loco pilot tried to stop the train, she was severely injured and was shifted to a hospital. However, she died at the hospital on March 11.