After Man’s Suicide, India Police Arrest his Survivor of Sexual Abuse

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Summary: Kerala Police arrested Shimjitha Musthafa, 35, on January 22, 2026, after she posted a video accusing a man of touching her inappropriately on a bus. The arrest followed a complaint by the man’s family after he died by suicide on January 18, 2026. Police charged Musthafa with abetment to suicide under a non-bailable provision, making her a scapegoat for his death despite her exercising her right to report sexual harassment in a country where such incidents are rampant.

Kerala Police have arrested a woman who recorded and posted video evidence of sexual harassment on public transport, charging her with abetment to suicide after the accused man took his own life.

Shimjitha Musthafa, 35, was arrested on January 22, 2026, and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days under a non-bailable charge relating to abetment to suicide. Her arrest came after she posted a video on social media showing Deepak U, 42, elbowing her breast on a crowded bus in Kozhikode.

Shimjitha recorded the incident on January 16, 2026, stating she documented it after witnessing Deepak harassing another girl on the bus. 

“I opened my camera and started shooting his actions. He had seen me taking the video. He stood still when he saw me shooting,” she said in a video statement.

Deepak died by suicide on January 18, 2026, a day after he turned 42. Following his death, his family filed a complaint against Shimjitha, accusing her of causing his death by posting the video online.

The family and misogynists have blamed Shimjitha for a social media trial, stating Deepak was innocent and distressed by online criticism. They accused Shimjitha, a social media content creator affiliated with the Indian Union Muslim League political party, of using the video to gain fame and followers.

Shimjitha denied these accusations, stating she recorded and posted the video to highlight a serious social and mental issue. After Deepak’s death, she released a second video, maintaining that he had crossed the sexual boundary and that it was neither an accident nor a misunderstanding.

The Kerala state human rights commission has directed police in Kozhikode district to submit their investigation report within a week.

The incident has triggered debate on social media about women’s right to document and report sexual harassment. X user Jaison Philip defended Musthafa’s actions, writing that 

“Elbowing the breast is a time-tested, oft-repeated strategy by perverts. Even when I was in my teens, my classmates used to demonstrate to my horror, how this can be done to practically any girl walking on the road/public transport. Another of their strategies was holding a book, & rubbing it against the buttocks of a girl in a bus.” 

He stated that while misogynists were tearing the woman apart on social media, she was well within her rights to record what she thought was a sexual assault.

Several women shared their own experiences of being sexually harassed or assaulted in public spaces after watching the video, highlighting the prevalence of such incidents in India.

Critics have questioned why Shimjitha is facing criminal charges for documenting sexual harassment in a country where such incidents against women on public transport are widespread. The non-bailable charge criminalises her act of reporting harassment, to deter other women from speaking out about their similar experiences.

Shimjitha’s arrest raises concerns about how the criminal justice system treats women who report sexual harassment, particularly when accused men die by suicide. By charging her with abetment to suicide, authorities have effectively made her responsible for his death rather than addressing the harassment she reported.

The case has drawn attention to the double standard women face when reporting sexual misconduct in public spaces. While sexual harassment remains rampant on public transport across India, women who document and report such incidents now risk criminal prosecution if their accusers take their own lives.