Riaz Ahmed, a businessman based in Hyderabad, on 3 November had published a satirical thread on Twitter consisting of a series of GIFs and videos featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A day later, he decided to deactivate his account altogether after an incessant barrage of hateful comments and abuse from trolls targeted him primarily on communal lines, and included death threats to him and his family.

The thread, according to Ahmed, was intended to satirise Modi’s camera-conscious conduct in public.