Sonakshi Sinha's campaign #AbBas prompts action against harassers; Mumbai CCB makes first arrest

Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha's campaign #AbBas has prompted action against harassers on social media with Mumbai Cyber Crime Branch (CCB) making the first arrest. The harasser offered an apology.

Film critic Komal Nahta tweeted a video and captioned it with, "#SonakshiSinha's campaign #AbBas prompts action against harassers. Mumbai cyber crime branch makes first arrest. Action against others underway. Sonakshi was inspired to start the campaign to spread awareness,help as many as she can & encourage others speak up against harassment."

The video features a guy in his 20s confessing his crime. The guy says, "I have realized my mistake. I made dirty comments on social media and Instagram accounts of Sonakshi Sinha and other Bollywood actors. I have been arrested for the same reason. I would like offer apologies to all of them and I will never commit such mistake again."

Abusing, trolling and harassing celebs has become common on social media. Post Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide, several star kids have been facing a lot of negativity and harassment. A couple of weeks ago, Sonakshi Sinha, who is the daughter of Shatrughan Sinha, launch a new campaign called Ab Bas to fight against harassers on social media. The actress released a series of videos to create awareness about it.

Sonakshi Sinha wrote, "It takes few seconds to post a negative comment online and the damage done can leave someone scarred for life! For the next chapter of #FullStopToCyberBullying, I spoke to @moirasachdev, a young girl who faced such negativity online that she contemplated suicide .. But there's always hope. Tune in for the conversation with cyber psychologist @niralibhatia and @missionjoshofficial tomorrow, as we try discuss how to stop online bullying and ensure a safer space for all. #AbBas ✋"

In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Sonakshi Sinha said, "You see people have been at home for five months now, and there's a lot of frustration that's coming out on the internet. So, it seems like a very gradual buildup of hatred and negativity online. That's really what kind of drove me to do this. I firmly believe that if something can't be said to someone's face — because there'll consequences — people need to know there are consequences even if you say it online."

Sonakshi Sinha added, "So, I wanted to make people aware that if there's someone treating you in a certain way online, action can be taken against them, and you can safeguard and protect yourself. For the longest time, even I've been ignoring or blocking such people, but it's time, as it's really getting out of hands. Forget being an actor, nobody should be subjected to that kind of behaviour or threats at all."