Who is Sonia Sehrawat? RAF officer in middle row over ‘dead cockroach’ Instagram Story | Today’s news
Rapid Action Force (RAF) officer Sonia Sehrawat is drawing massive flak on social media after she posted a picture of a dead cockroach and wrote: “They can’t fix themselves and they want to fix the country.” Screenshots of the Instagram Story quickly went viral online, with several users calling it “insensitive and sadistic.”
The viral post also drew a response from the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a satirical online movement that has now evolved into a youth movement protesting against education reforms and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Cockroaches never die!
Describing Sehrawat’s post as “shocking”, CJP wrote on X: “This RAF official actually sees peaceful protesters as cockroaches and thinks police brutality was justified because of that,” CJP said on X. “But you see, we are cockroaches. And cockroaches never die!”
Quick answers to key questions
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Sonia Sehrawat faced backlash for posting a photo of a dead cockroach with a caption criticizing the protesters, which many users saw as “insensitive and sadistic”.
The Rapid Action Force (RAF) is a specialized riot control and crowd control unit of the CRPF where Sonia Sehrawat serves as the Assistant Commandant.
The CJP described Sehrawat’s post as shocking and criticized her for viewing peaceful protesters as “cockroaches”, thereby supporting their message that “cockroaches never die”.
Sonia Sehrawat shared her controversial story on Instagram two days after she was injured while deployed during the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar.
Some officers expressed concern that Sehrawat’s political comments on social media could damage the force’s reputation and suggested it could warrant disciplinary action.
Read also | CJP Protest News LIVE: Internet suspended till 6 AM tomorrow near Sansad Marg
According to a report by Bruta, Sehrawat was injured while deployed at Jantar Mantar on July 20 during the CJP protest.
Videos of the protest quickly spread on social media and interviews followed in which Sehrawat recounted her experiences during the police deployment. The Delhi Police subsequently registered several FIRs over the clashes and investigations are on.
Two days later, Sehrawat posted an Instagram story on her account, which was later deleted. However, Mint could not verify the authenticity of the Instagram driver.
Read also | CJP protests: ‘Don’t waste time,’ says CJI on plea against police action
Sehrawat’s social media posts sparked widespread debate among RAF and CRPF personnel and officers, with some expressing concern about their impact on the force’s image.
“These positions are giving a bad name to the force. We are a professional force and have a mandate to control crowd and handle riot-like situations,” a CRPF officer told ThePrint.
“Political comments like this, even from a personal account, when the staff are personally involved in the duties, should be a disciplinary issue. We will see if the higher-ups take note and come down hard on it,” the officer added.
Read also | Amid CJP protest, Dharmendra Pradhan’s daughter deactivates Instagram account
Who is Sonia Sehrawat?
Sonia Sehrawat is an Assistant Commandant in the CRPF and serves with the Rapid Action Force (RAF), the force’s specialized riot control and crowd management unit.
In addition to his police career, Sehrawat has a significant presence on Instagram, where he shares dance videos, fitness content, trending reels, personal updates and occasional glimpses of his life in uniform.
In an interview with Win Life Like a Warrior, Sehrawat said that she grew up in Haryana, where traditional societal norms often limited opportunities for girls. She said those experiences motivated her to pursue a career in the armed forces.
Training and career
On the Win Life Like a Warrior podcast, Sonia Sehrawat recalled that she suffered a serious injury during training that required 52 stitches. Despite the setback, she recovered and completed the training program, describing the incident as a defining moment in her career.
