106 accounts taken down: Punjab Police crack down on online support for influencer Kamal Kaur’s killers

The Cyber Crime Division of the Punjab Police has shut down 106 social media accounts that supported the killing of social media influencer Kamal Kaur and amplified the justifications offered by her alleged murderers.

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Police sources said the posts on these accounts had the potential to incite communal tension and disturb the law and order. The crackdown followed reports submitted by district police units monitoring online activity in the aftermath of the murder.

Kaur, known online as “Kamal Kaur Bhabhi”, was found strangled in a parked car near Adesh University in Bathinda on June 11. Investigations revealed she had been lured from Ludhiana under the pretext of a promotional event and killed allegedly for posting content deemed “vulgar” by a radical fringe group.

The main accused, Amritpal Singh Mehron, a self-styled moral crusader and head of the radical outfit Qaum De Rakhe, fled to the UAE just hours after the crime. Two of his associates, Jaspreet Singh and Nimratjit Singh, have been arrested.

Mehron, a resident of Moga district, has a history of online vigilantism. He had previously been booked for threatening a music producer over obscene lyrics in 2021 and for vandalising statues of Punjabi folk dancers near the Golden Temple in 2020.

According to the police, Mehron was present at the scene of the crime and allegedly forced Kamal Kaur to reveal her phone passwords before strangling her. He then boarded a flight from Amritsar on June 10, just hours after the murder. A look-out circular has been issued and the Punjab Police are preparing an extradition request.

The murder has triggered a wave of fear among Punjab’s digital creators. Influencers such as Deepika Luthra, Simarjeet Kaur (aka Preet Jatti), and Chand Singh have reported receiving death threats from extremist elements. Luthra, who was threatened by Babbar Khalsa International, deleted her Instagram account and has been provided police security. Singh, who runs the platform “Jatt Babe Bandra To”, now moves with armed aides and has publicly apologised for his past content.

The Punjab Police have responded by treating social media threats as a matter of internal security. Officials say the crackdown was being guided by intelligence inputs and formal complaints, with legal action being pursued under the provisions of the Information Technology Act.