A 15-year-old protester accused of using abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the July 23 demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar has issued an apology in a video that appeared online. She states she joined the event with friends after visiting Connaught Place and was influenced by others chanting slogans against the Prime Minister.
The footage, which shows her with hands folded, has circulated widely on social media. India Today has not independently confirmed its authenticity.
“I came under the influence of those people,” she says. “I am only 15 years old. Whatever I did was not worthy of forgiveness. I have said a lot of bad things.”
Calling it her “first and last mistake,” she adds, “I apologise to the entire country. I am so ashamed. I can’t even look at myself. Please forgive me.”
The video emerged hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a message on Instagram on Friday, forgiving the students involved and urging society to guide them rather than punish them.
“The abusive slogans used against me and my late mother were deeply disturbing,” Modi said. “But young people should be given an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.”
A Zero FIR was registered against the protester at Noida’s Expressway Police Station on July 29. The case, filed under Sections 352, 353(1), and 356(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, was transferred to Parliament Street Police Station in Delhi for further investigation.
The individual lives with her mother in a Noida housing society that is currently locked. Police have visited the area and questioned residents.
The Cockroach Janta Party, which organised the protest, criticised the criminal case, arguing that such remarks should be addressed through defamation proceedings rather than criminal prosecution to protect free speech.
