Journalist Rana Ayyub her father receive death threats

Prominent Indian journalist Rana Ayyub and her father received death threats on Saturday, November 2.

According to reports, Ayyub received a threat call who claimed to know her address. Following the incident, the Committee to Protect Journalists has demanded that the Indian government act swiftly and hold accountable those responsible and ensure the safety of all journalists in India so they can work without fear of intimidation or violence.

In her complaint filed with the Mumbai police, Ayyub stated that she received multiple threat calls and WhatsApp messages in a span of 20 minutes. The caller demanded that the journalist write an article on the 1984 riots in which 3,000 Sikhs were killed.

The massacre occurred after the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards.

The caller threatened to send people to her residence to attack her and kill her father if she didn’t publish the article. In her complaint, Ayyub noted that the profile image of the caller matched a photograph of Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently in prison in Gujarat.

Following the complaint, the Navi Mumbai Police deployed security at the journalist’s house. In 2024, Ayyub’s personal contact number was leaked online. She has been constantly targeted for her reporting.

Rana Ayyub’s phone number leaked

The journalist’s contact was leaked by a right-wing account known as “Hindutva Knight”. This incident has exacerbated the ongoing threats she faced throughout her career, particularly from the supporters of the ruling BJP and its associates.

Ayyub, who gained recognition for her book “Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover-Up” which investigated the 2002 Gujarat riots, expressed her grave concern regarding the implications of the leak of her personal data and phone number. She underlined this incident as part of more systemic attempts to suppress dissent in the country of India.

#India: Indian authorities must take immediate steps to guarantee the safety of Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub and her family, after she received multiple threats via her phone from someone who knew her home address, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.…

— CPJ Asia (@CPJAsia) November 3, 2025

Ayyub shared that she received death and rape threats, which caused her to switch off her phone to avoid any potential danger. Recalling her ordeal in a social media post, she revealed that her family was terrified, and they spent the whole night consoling her during this distressing time.