Prominent makeup artist Jaanmoni Das was arrested by the Kozhikode City Cyber Police on Thursday, 20 August, over alleged derogatory remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mother Heeraben Modi, made in the context of a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. She was subsequently released on station bail, as the offences cited in the case are bailable in nature.

How the Case Was Registered

The First Information Report (FIR) was filed on a complaint lodged by Kerala BJP Mahila Morcha President Navya Haridas. According to the FIR, Jaanmoni Das allegedly made defamatory and insulting remarks against the Prime Minister with the stated intent of creating social unrest and disturbing public peace. The Kozhikode City Cyber Police registered the case and effected the arrest before granting her station bail.

Jaanmoni Das Responds: 'Remarks Were Misunderstood'

The arrest triggered immediate controversy. Jaanmoni Das maintained that her remarks had been misinterpreted, attributing the confusion in part to her limited proficiency in Malayalam. She said the remarks were made while responding to media queries after she had viewed content related to the Delhi protest, and that what she intended to convey was wrongly understood.

She subsequently posted a video on Instagram apologising for the controversy. “I did not say it with the intention of hurting anyone,” she said in the video, adding that she had not been speaking about the Prime Minister’s mother. She claimed she realised the gravity of the situation only after friends alerted her that the video had gone viral, and that she had asked those who posted it to take it down.

Jaanmoni also disclosed that she had received a large number of threatening calls and messages from locations including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and various parts of India. “I don’t know what I should do. I have received many threatening calls,” she said, reiterating that she had only posed a question in response to content she had seen, and had not made any statement against PM Modi.

BJP Mahila Morcha Rejects the Apology

The Kerala BJP Mahila Morcha has rejected her explanation outright, stating that remarks allegedly directed at the Prime Minister and his mother cannot be dismissed as a “mere language-related misunderstanding.” The unit has continued to demand further action, and the police are pressing ahead with their investigation into the allegations.

Political Dimensions of the Controversy

The episode has taken on a clear political character. With the BJP Mahila Morcha pursuing the complaint and Jaanmoni Das maintaining her innocence, the case highlights the increasingly contested terrain around speech, intent, and political sensitivity in social media-driven controversies. This comes amid a broader pattern of cyber police cases in Kerala involving remarks about national leaders. The investigation is ongoing, and the police have not indicated a timeline for its conclusion.