A woman named Divya Rana, who claims to be the Deputy Manager of The Times of India in Mumbai, has abused my mother as ‘r*ndi (prostitute)’, ‘hij*da’ (eunuch) and wished sexual assault on her.
She has threatened me with physical harm and vowed to destroy my life using the influence and power of her father, who is allegedly a Judge.
Rana issued these threats on Facebook over her disapproval of a post, which criticised the death of a 4-year-old child in Bengaluru due to rabies.
The incident occurred on Thursday (21st August), soon after I shared a Facebook post, highlighting the death of a child four months after being mauled by stray dogs in Bengaluru.
The 4-year-old daughter of a street vendor contracted rabies and passed away on 17th August. Popular social media commentator ‘The Skin Doctor’ had posted about the incident on Facebook on 19th August.
I had shared his post with the caption, “We failed you, little girl. ‘Dog activists’, campaigning to keep stray dogs on the street, will not squeak a word about it.”
Divya Rana, who claimed to be a ‘journalist’ and Deputy Manager, desceneded on my Facebook and warned me of consequences using her credentials.
She claimed that the news was incorrect and I would be penalised by law for sharing unverified information. I cross checked the details and found the news to be authentic.
The story of the child’s death due to rabies was extensively covered in the media, including ‘The Times of India.’
But this did not stop Divya Rana from issuing me a ChatGPT-generated ‘seize and desist notice’ in the comment section of the Facebook post.
She sent me this written warning at the start. Divya Rana reiterates her position as Deputy Manager @timesofindia pic.twitter.com/W61ntqOAtc
— Dibakar Dutta (দিবাকর দত্ত) (@dibakardutta_) August 21, 2025
When I asked her to forward the legal notice to my official email ([email protected]), she resorted to time-wasting techniques.
I requested Divya Rana, the alleged Deputy Manager of The Times of India, to hurry up and send me the legal notice immediately. But, she threatened me with arrest for ‘defamation’ and sharing ‘false information.’
The ‘journalist’ continued, “A warrant has already been issued to Indian Express. Sending a legal notice to you as well.. you have admitted that you have shared this information based on posts shared by others and you do not have a valid facts . hence this calls for a notice...”
The TImes of India 'journalist' claimed that I would be arrested for sharing the Facebook post of @theskindoctor13 pic.twitter.com/s0dr7ug9l0
— Dibakar Dutta (দিবাকর দত্ত) (@dibakardutta_) August 21, 2025
“U will once u get arrested for defamation on social media and spreading false information based on what you heard but never validated,” Rana continued with her intimidatory techniques.
After I continued to insist on the ‘legal notice’ to be sent to my email ID, despite threats of arrest and warrant, the alleged Deputy Manager of The Times of India resorted to verbal abuse.
Divya Rana had no qualms about calling my 70-year-old mother ‘r*ndi (prostitute)’, ‘hij*da’ (eunuch), besides wishing to parade her naked in public. Not to forget, her threat of destroying my life using the power and influence of her Judge father.
My only mistake was that I raised the issue of the untimely death of a child due to a dog bite and subsequent rabies.
As a son, it is difficult for me to translate the abuses hurled at my mother. But here it goes-
Divya Rana: Dibakar Dutta, is your mother a r*ndi who comes to quell your sexual thirst? There is no rat’s ass but your mother’s ass. What is the rate of your mother? Harsh Verma is my father who is a judge. I will get your underwear removed and parade you naked, you son of a hij*a and randi. Do you even have an ass? Your face is ugly, and so is your talk. Ugh, you have such a disgusting face, the son of a ran*i mother. See, your mother is parading naked on the streets. Maderch*d, keep barking now. I will give you a legal response, you disgusting worm from the drain. Keep barking, I won’t even reply. I won’t even read.
I am left astounded by how Rana, through her alleged association with ‘The Times of India’ and her father’s alleged profession as a Judge, feels emboldened enough to threaten and abuse a common man without any fear of law.
Response of The Times of India and the lingering questions
After more than 16 hours since I first flagged the issue on Twitter demanding action from The Times of India, the newspaper responded on Saturday (22nd August).
It claimed that the person mentioned in my tweet is not an employee at ‘The Times of India’, but then automatically determined that it must be a ‘fake account’ of an actual staff member.
“The person mentioned in your tweet is not employed with The Times of India. This appears to be a fake account impersonating a TOI staffer,” the newspaper stated.
If Divya Rana is not employed by The Times of India, then how did you automatically determine that this is a 'fake account'?
— Dibakar Dutta (দিবাকর দত্ত) (@dibakardutta_) August 22, 2025
Is it because her name is already on your employee list?
Okay, Let me give you the benefit of doubt and assume that it is not damage control… pic.twitter.com/WYtfxRKNYv
And this raises questions whether Divya Rana is indeed the employee of the newspaper, and its response on X(formerly Twitter) is a post-damage control mechanism and attempt at mere face-saving.
At the time of writing, the profile of ‘Divya Rana’ is still active on Facebook and the cover image reads ‘The Times of India.’
While the newspaper has claimed to take ‘appropriate action’, it has not highlighted the specific nature of the action and urgent measures to undo damage to its reputation by a ‘fake account.’
