Hawk Eye doubles down after Neelima Kota threatens legal action

New Delhi: A social media clash involving Congress leader Neelima Kota and an anonymous OSINT handle, “The Hawk Eye” (@thehawkeyex), escalated on Sunday after Kota threatened civil and criminal action over a thread that alleged conflicts of interest and foreign funding links in media initiatives.

On December 20, @thehawkeyex published a 20-post thread that described itself as an “exclusive” expose and claimed it was backed by screenshots, archived web pages, and public records. 

The handle alleged that Kota, Vice President of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) and a member of the Congress Working Committee, had a visible association with PROTO, a Delhi-based media innovation firm, through profile placement and event participation.

In her response on December 20, Kota called the post a “defamatory rant” and said the assertions were “false and malicious”. She said legal proceedings would follow, and denied the insinuations made in the thread.

Kota is married to Congress national spokesperson Pawan Khera, who heads the party’s media and publicity department.

The original thread alleged that Kota was featured prominently on the website of PROTO, a Delhi-based media innovation firm, and questioned her association with the organisation in the context of political roles. 

The handle claimed it had screenshots and archived material showing her profile displayed on PROTO’s website since at least 2020, alongside the firm’s founder, Nasr ul Hadi, and said she had participated in PROTO-linked events.

The posts also claimed that Kota’s platforms, including the Institute of Perception Studies, Rate The Debate, Hakku Initiative, and StudioAdda, hosted discussions between 2020 and 2025 featuring guests described by the handle as critical of the BJP and its policies. 

The thread named several public figures and journalists, and argued that the guest list reflected a pattern of political alignment. 

These claims were presented as inferences drawn from event pages and archives cited by the handle.

A central claim in the thread linked PROTO to the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit. 

The handle alleged that PROTO served as an ICFJ partner for programmes in South Asia, and that initiatives involved funding or support from international donors. 

It further claimed that these programmes influenced media narratives in India, an allegation that remains disputed.

The thread also brought in the family of Nasr ul Hadi, alleging that his brother, Saif ul Hadi, had links with Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH). 

The handle said it relied on online profiles and event biographies to make the claim. 

Kota, in her post, rejected the linkage as baseless and said she had no operational role in PROTO beyond participating in events.

After Kota’s legal warning, @thehawkeyex published a rebuttal thread on December 21, saying it was “sourced and documented” and included screenshots, archived links, and public records. 

Instead of threatening legal action, why not explain, Madam @KotaNeelima, why PROTO founder Nasr ul Hadi featured your profile on PROTO’s homepage for years, prominently displayed alongside his own profile?#RebuttalThread ++

1/ pic.twitter.com/0rT9gc9K9b

— The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) December 21, 2025

The rebuttal reiterated questions on why Kota’s profile appeared on PROTO’s website for extended periods, and repeated the claims about ICFJ partnerships and funding trails, citing what it described as publicly available documentation.

The thread also made claims about funding trails and referenced organisations and donors, and it cited a separate allegation about Common Cause and its FCRA status. 

NewsDrum has not independently verified the OSINT claims or the documents cited in the threads.

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya amplified the rebuttal thread and urged followers to track the developments.

The OSINT handle has said it will stand by its claims and invited legal scrutiny.