E-commerce platform Meesho has come under sharp criticism for selling t-shirts with the face of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. A filmmaker, Alishan Jafri, drew attention to this issue. His post on X pointed out the t-shirts, priced at Rs 168, with the image of Bishnoi and the word “gangster” embossed on it, and some items even featuring children. He called it an instance of “India’s latest online radicalisation,” sparking debates on how digital marketplaces enable the glorification of criminals.
Lawrence Bishnoi merchandise
This murder is also linked to Sidhu Moose Wala’s murder and the other recent cases, including the threat to Bollywood actor Salman Khan and similar other crimes such as that of NCP leader Baba Siddique who was recently murdered.
He went on to post a danger that such characters were going to be glorified. In the actual lives of youths who became influenced by gang content, he included an example of a 15-year-old boy from Deoria who killed his friend as well as three boys in Delhi who formed a group known as “Badnaam Gang,” which allegedly was planning to record their crimes on Instagram to become notorious.
Public reaction was swift with calls for boycotts against Meesho. Under Jafri’s post, people were calling for “de-platforming” Meesho and holding it accountable. Some were concerned about the social implications at large, with one user stating, “This gangster culture will destroy India.” Another user called it shameful that Meesho was allowing gangster-themed clothing on its marketplace, especially those targeted at children.
“Shame on Meesho and such websites. Shame!” said a user. The fourth user said, “What the hell. @Meesho_Official why are you selling a gangsters (Lawrence Bishnoi) merch . What in the world?”. The other user simply said that just shut shop now,.
Jafri said the influencers might gain by promoting gang culture. He added, “At a time when police and NIA are struggling to stop youths from joining gang crime, social media influencers are making quick money by promoting gang content and glorifying gangsters.”.
Comment same words. “Hello @Meesho_Official Don’t glorify crime! Wearing Lawrence Bishnoi’s merchandise doesn’t make you cool, it promotes gang culture #LawrenceBishnoi a known criminal under #IndianLaw has various cases registered against him as well with many killings held in his name.
What’s ironic, though- the most popular #commerce application, #Meesho is selling T-shirts brandishing the gangster branding openly to promote a killing bandit.” “Real Shame!!! ” And, ” So, online shopping sites @Flipkart @Meesho_Official are openly and unhesitantly becoming sympathizers for the gangster and giving their support along with promotions of his Killings Shame!!!”.
Meesho, in its official statement to Hindustan Times, at least acknowledged the grave error of judgement. “We took immediate action to deactivate products. Meesho will continue to ensure a secure and trusted shopping platform for all our users”, a spokesperson said.
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