Shimjitha Musthafa booked after a man commits suicide following sexual harassment allegations: Kerala tragedy exposes dangers of social media vigilantism

The suicide of a 40-year-old man named Deepak U has sparked a national debate over whether it was a case of real sexual harassment by the man or the woman, Shimjitha Musthafa, filming the incident, stooped too low for view farming. Amidst the outrage, the woman who accused Deepak of sexually harassing her during a bus ride in Kerala’s Kozhikode has been booked by the police on 20th January, over the allegations of abetment to suicide. This comes after the deceased man’s mother, Kanyaka, filed a complaint against Shimjitha Musthafa. The case has been registered under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The Kozhikode Medical College Police have already recorded the statement of the accused, Shimjitha Musthafa, and further action will be taken in the matter after preliminary investigation. Meanwhile, the Kerala Human Rights Commission has ordered an investigation, and the incident has sparked discussion on mental health, false accusations, and the detrimental outcomes of desperation for followers and views farming by content creators. Deepak U committed suicide after a sexual harassment claim triggered trolling and backlash against him On 16th January, Deepak U, a resident of Kozhikode’s Govindapuram area, had taken a KSRTC bus, where Shimjitha Musthafa was also travelling. During the crowded bus journey, Shimjitha Musthafa recorded and shared a video claiming that Deepak inappropriately touched her. The viral video shows Deepak standing away from the woman, trying to balance himself by holding the upper part of a seat as the bus shook and rolled on. For the first few seconds, the video was shot with the woman showing Deepak, who was standing a couple of feet away from her. The next part of the video shows the woman from another angle, where she is standing closer to Deepak, and pointing the camera at how his elbow is moving. Deepak, apparently unaware that a video is being made, continues his position. At one instance, his elbow touches the woman’s chest, who was then standing very close to him. The video went viral and sparked sharp reactions. Soon after, Shimjitha published another video doubling down on her allegations against Deepak, saying that he deliberately touched her without consent and violated her sexual boundaries. She further claimed that it was a deliberate act stemming from the belief that he would not have to face any consequences for it. “Yesterday, I shared a video from a public bus where a man deliberately touched me without my consent. This was not an accident or a misunderstanding. It was a clear violation of my sexual boundaries. I began recording after noticing a woman in front of me was uncomfortable. Despite knowing he was being recorded, the man still went ahead and touched me. This shows a deliberate act, a lack of empathy and the belief that he would face no consequences,” Shimjitha Musthafa said. After the video went viral, Deepak was reportedly distressed and told his family and relatives that he had no wrong intentions and that his hand touched the woman inadvertently. On the morning of Sunday (18th January), Deepak’s parents tried to knock on his door. After there was no response, the family called neighbours to gain entry into the room. Deepak was found hanging. Deepak’s devastated mother said that the deceased man was deeply stressed after the video Shimjitha shared on social media and levelled grave accusations against him, which went viral. Deepak’s mother said, “My child could not bear it. He has not been accused of anything wrong ever.” In no time, social media pivoted from criticising, trolling, and rushing to judge Deepak to pointing out that Deepak was innocent and the woman intentionally set him up, to gain social media attention. Memes showing men using cardboard boxes to avoid getting falsely accused of sexual harassment The disturbing incident has triggered a wave of memes and satirical content on social media, particularly centred on the men’s apprehensions of false accusations in public spaces like buses. Kerala Men traveling in bus from today pic.twitter.com/vsvnivkHgk— Deepu (@deepu_drops) January 19, 2026 Several videos and memes show men employing exaggerated protective measures, including cardboard boxes, to avoid any accidental contact with women, which may spark any baseless claim of harassment. Call it dark humour or a unique protest, such content is gaining widespread support on social media. In one of the viral videos, a man in a crowded Kerala bus is seen wearing an oversized cardboard box covering his upper body, arms outstretched, holding the overhead bar. The box features text in Malayalam, which roughly translates to “Protection from false allegations”. Are these unavoidable for male passengers and male conductors?In the backdrop of an incident where a man died by suicide after being humiliated through a video recorded against him for a mistake he did not commit, visuals of