How Women At The NEET Leak Protests Were Doxxed, Threatened And Forced Offline
Thousands of students joined demonstrations over the alleged NEET (UG) 2026 paper leak. For many women who documented those protests on social media, the demonstrations did not end when they left the streets.
Over the past two weeks, multiple reports have alleged that women who participated in the protests had their identities exposed online, received rape and death threats, saw personal information circulated without their consent and, in some cases, faced pressure to publicly apologise.
The reports have also renewed attention on doxxing, a practice that is increasingly affecting people who speak out online but remains a legal grey area in India.
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What Is Doxxing?
Doxxing is the act of publishing someone's personal information online without their consent. This can include home addresses, phone numbers, workplaces, colleges or details about family members.
The information is often shared to intimidate, harass or silence an individual. Once personal details become public, they can lead to coordinated online abuse and, in some cases, offline harassment.
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How Women Were Allegedly Identified
According to an investigation by ThePrint, some individuals running pro-government and pro-Sanatan social media accounts closely monitored videos emerging from the NEET paper leak protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. People interviewed by the publication described identifying protesters and sharing their details across WhatsApp, Facebook and X networks in an effort to establish who they were.
The investigation also reported that some of those interviewed claimed they received information from acquaintances, neighbours and others who recognised women appearing in viral videos. While those interviewed told ThePrint they did not support online harassment, the publication reported that these identification networks allegedly helped expose protesters' identities.
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Online Abuse Followed
Several women later described receiving rape threats, death threats and abusive messages after videos from the protests spread across social media.
In a report published by the BBC, women said strangers searched through their social media profiles, circulated edited photographs and subjected them to gendered abuse. Some said their colleges were identified online, while others claimed relatives were contacted and urged to persuade them to remove protest-related content.
One student told the BBC that anonymous users threatened to have her arrested and assaulted, while another said morphed images portraying her as "anti-national" and a "terrorist" were widely shared online. Several women said they eventually made their social media accounts private or deleted protest-related posts because they feared for their safety.
Several women also told the BBC that the abuse they received was different from that directed at male protesters. While men expressing similar political views were criticised, women said they were targeted with sexualised insults, comments about their appearance and threats of sexual violence.
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Public Apologies And Offline Intimidation
Some women later appeared in public apology videos after their identities became public.
One widely reported case involved a 15-year-old girl who apologised for remarks made during the protest after her video went viral. According to ThePrint, some social media users later claimed to have used AI tools to compare facial features and questioned whether the girl seen in the apology video was the same person featured in the original clip. Those claims were not independently verified.
ThePrint also reported claims that some individuals visited the homes of women featured in protest videos to speak with them and their families, urging them to issue public apologies.
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Is Doxxing Illegal In India?
Although doxxing can have serious real-world consequences, it is not recognised as a standalone criminal offence under Indian law.
According to an explainer published by The Indian Express, victims often have to rely on existing provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act depending on what follows after their personal information is published.
Legal experts told the newspaper that:
Repeated unwanted contact or monitoring may attract provisions relating to stalking.
Death threats and rape threats may amount to criminal intimidation.
Publishing content intended to insult a woman's modesty or intrude upon her privacy may attract other provisions under the BNS.
If the victim is a minor, provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act may also apply.
However, legal experts also noted that simply publishing someone's personal information online does not automatically constitute a criminal offence in every case, making legal remedies more complicated.
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What Can Victims Do?
According to The Indian Express, victims should preserve screenshots, URLs and other evidence before reporting abusive content to social media platforms.
Under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, platforms are required to act against content that invades privacy or amounts to gender-based harassment within prescribed timelines. Victims can also file complaints through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and approach the police if they receive threats or face intimidation.
Why The Debate Continues
The experiences shared by women who attended the NEET paper leak protests have renewed debate over online safety and digital privacy in India.
The reports also raise broader questions about whether India's existing laws adequately address doxxing. While victims may seek legal protection through provisions relating to stalking, criminal intimidation or privacy violations, legal experts say there is currently no standalone criminal offence that directly covers doxxing.
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