Twitter user @RoflGandhi_ accused of rape? No, false claim by Right Wing users

Shinjinee Majumder

Jul 11

The administrator of the popular parody handle on Twitter @RoflGandhi_, Sunil Sharma, recently came under fire with social media users claiming that Sharma was accused of rape. Sharma is apparently facing charges under section 376 in Delhi.

Verified Twitter Handle @newglobaltimes tweeted the viral claim and attached a link to the transcript of the court proceedings on the Indian Kanoon website. The document is dated February 12, 2013. The tweet garnered over 1,500 likes and close to 1000 retweets. (Archive)

An Indian troll account @RoflGandhi_ aka Sunil Sharma is in news for an alleged rape case. As per the social media sources, Sharma is facing charges under section 376 in the capital Delhi.#ROFLGandhi

More details on the case is published here:https://t.co/wC4wJCObRg pic.twitter.com/ISrFWYmrTD

— New Global Times (@newglobaltimes) July 4, 2023

The national secretary of BJYM, Tejinder Pal Singh Bagga, also retweeted the aforementioned tweet. Here is an archive of his profile.

Another verified account by the name @AmirLadka also tweeted the same claim along with the link to the Indian Kanoon website. (Archive)

He is Sunil sharma, there was a case registered on him under section 376(for raping domestic helper). More details:https://t.co/gzQEiWkkkD pic.twitter.com/Q7zMFvG4W0

— Paise Wala (@AmirLadka) July 3, 2023

Verified account @FltLtAnoopVerma claimed that Sharma had a 'case of domestic violence & rape running against him' and that he was a 'serial offender'. (Archive)

This 'ROFL Gandhi aka Sunil Sharma' handle abused Prabhu Shri Ram

After getting caught by @Sadhvi_prachi, he deleted his tweet & ran

Look at his past, he has abused every religion & also a case of domestic violence & rape running against him

He is serial offender @DelhiPolice pic.twitter.com/xcJezNtGRk

— Flt Lt Anoop Verma (Retd.) (@FltLtAnoopVerma) July 4, 2023

@TheSquind asked 'Is it true that RoflGandhi/Sunil Sharma is accused of raping his housemaid?' in a tweet that garnered over 3,500 likes and close to 1,000 retweets. Users replied to his tweet in the affirmative, citing the Indian Kanoon link. (Archive)

is it true that RoflGandhi/Sunil Sharma is accused of raping his housemaid?

— Squint Neon (@TheSquind) July 4, 2023

Fact Check

Firstly, we noted that the administrator of Twitter handle @RoflGandhi_ vehemently denied any connection to the case. Tweeting a screenshot of Tajinder Pall Singh Bagga's retweet of the viral claim, he urged Bagga to verify the details of the case with the Hari Nagar Police Station (where the FIR was registered).

BJP leader @TajinderBagga has RTd a tweet alleging rape charges against me. Attaching two screenshots here. The alleged case belongs to Hari Nagar, Delhi, where Bagga resides. The accused was acquitted of all charges as per the information available on said link. Now I challenge… pic.twitter.com/21ATuUDaAf

— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 (@RoflGandhi_) July 4, 2023

To crosscheck this, we reached out to the man behind the handle @RoflGandhi_ who provided us with his Aadhaar details. We compared the personal details of the Sunil Sharma who was an accused in the case and the admin of @RoflGandhi_ Twitter handle. Their fathers' names and addresses are not the same. In the court judgement, the name of the accused's father is mentioned as Shyam Sunder Sharma, and his address is Fateh Nagar, Delhi.

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Secondly, upon going through the judgement by additional sessions judge (special fast-track court, Tis Hazari Court, Delhi) Nivedita Anil Sharma, we noted that the accused, Sunil Sharma, a resident of Fateh Nagar, Hari Nagar, New Delhi, had been acquitted of the charges brought against him under sections 376 and 506 of the IPC.

The judgement says, "The prosecutrix has not deposed an iota of evidence of her being raped at all. She has not even mentioned the word "rape" in her evidence nor has deposed anything incriminating against the accused Mr. Sunil Sharma... In the circumstances, as PW1, the prosecutrix, who is the star witness has turned hostile and has not supported the prosecution case and more importantly has not assigned any criminal role to the accused, the prosecution evidence is closed..."

"...it is clear that the evidence of the prosecution is neither reliable nor believable and is not trustworthy and the prosecution has failed to establish rape. The evidence of the prosecutrix makes it highly improbable that such an incident ever took place... Therefore, in view of above discussion, the conscience of this Court is completely satisfied that the prosecution has failed to bring home the charge against the accused, Mr.Sunil Sharma, for the offence under sections 376 and 506 of the IPC."

Thus, a false claim about the administrator of the popular parody handle @RoflGandhi_ is viral with users claiming that he is an accused in a 2012 rape case in Delhi. Alt News found the claims to be misleading. The accused in the case is a different person with the same name.

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