The perception of guilt is a dangerous one. More so if you are bombarded with images and narratives that prove or disprove a person’s criminality or victimhood on social media. When Sarvjeet Singh posed as the woman, he has allegedly harassed, clicked him on her phone camera at a Delhi signal, he would’ve have never imagined that half the country would know him by name in a matter of days. So unbelieving was he of the machinery that would have him arrested 24 hours later that he even apparently told her, “Jo kar sakti hai kar le. Complaint karke dikha, fir dekhiyo kya karta hun main. (Do whatever you can. Show me if you can lodge a complaint, then see what I do.)” But it turns out that Sarvjeet cannot, in fact, do much. Why? Because Jasleen Kaur made a Facebook post about her ordeal — something that ensured that in the minds of all who were reading the post, her alleged harasser was indeed a sleaze.
Amidst questions on whether this will affect the fair trial of Sarvjeet, his family has been quick to turn the attention to Jasleen’s Aam Aadmi Party links. A few websites have already pronounced Jasleen’s account as fake with much alacrity. Trial by social media is both cruel and unforgiving — something that Kolkata student Tamoghna Halder also recently discovered when his image as a bra-clad protestor of the FTII chairperson appointment was ceaselessly shared on Facebook until he had to delete his account after facing threats, which continue to rain on him. What social media sharers did not know was the fact that Tamoghna’s picture was taken at the end of a long performance piece where he unraveled layers of cinema reel off himself, to reveal the nakedness of corruption.
However, as long as topics are “trending”, there is no relent in the cyclical churning of verdicts by the social media-savvy. Digital strategist Agratha Dinakaran, who is known for sparking dialogues on social issues on social media, says that such trials are a grey area. “People are trying to be helpful by sharing Jasleen’s images. I too would do the same. But up until Monday night, what was support has now become a series of personal attacks. I am surprised that everything from her old tweets to her looks and political affiliation are being brought to the fore. And yet, none of us know the truth.”
