Team Mahi’s ‘Sentinel’ Apologizes for Comments on ‘Nirbhaya’ Rape Case Over Xhade Ban
Cover-Credits:
- Team Mahi's owner Manoj ‘Sentinel’ Kashyap made some controversial remarks in a recent livestream.
- Sentinel brought up the Nirbhaya rape case and said anyone bringing up the Xhade cheating controversy would receive a worse fate than the rape victim.
- After a clip from his stream went public, Sentinel issued an apology to his fans in a YouTube Video.
Team Mahi’s owner Manoj ‘Sentinel’ Kashyap made some unsavoury comments in his recent livestream while discussing a recent incident involving a cheater who Riot Games banned. Sentinel’s viewers brought up the topic of former Valorant player, Abhay ‘Xhade’ Urkude, who was recently banned by Riot Games. ‘Anna’ aka Sentinel, responded with toxicity and stated that anyone who brings up the cheating controversy would be physically abused worse than ‘Nirbhaya,’ a victim of a 2012 gang rape and murder in Delhi.
Xhade’s Valorant Cheating Controversy That Sparked the Discussion in TM Sentinel’s Chat
Paratroops’ Valorant player Abhay "Xhade'' Urkude was disqualified from The Esports Club Invitational after he was banned by Riot Games in the middle of the tournament. The organizers tried to reach out to Riot to identify the ban's cause but did not receive a response in time. TM Sentinel’s ‘Team Mahi’ was one of the esports organizations that went up against Paratroops (Xhade’s team) in The Esports Club Invitational.
At the time of his ban, no official reason was made public and it was unknown if Xhade cheated during the event or not. TEC allowed Paratroops to continue with Xhade being removed from the roster temporarily. Soon after, it was discovered that the player was using cheats in ranked games. He also admitted to the same in a recent livestream on Valorant streamer, 8bit Binks69's channel. Sentinel also put out a video talking about the incident and he explained why we need to be more accountable as a community and not let such cheating incidents happen any further.
What is The Nirbhaya Rape Case Referenced by TM Sentinel?
The Nirbhaya rape case that was referred to by TM Sentinel is one of the most brutal rape and fatal assault cases in India. In Delhi, in December 2012, a woman was gang-raped, beaten, and tortured in a private bus by multiple individuals. She was given medical attention but died 13 days after the incident. Since Indian law does not allow the press to publish a rape victim's name, the victim was widely known as Nirbhaya, meaning "fearless.”
TM Sentinel told his viewers that anyone talking about Xhade and his cheating incident will be assaulted and will suffer a worse fate than Nirbhaya, which is highly distasteful.
TM Sentinel Responds to Recent Controversy
Since then, TM Sentinel has apologised for this incident by posting a video on his YouTube channel. He stated, “the choice of words that I used clearly shows that I am not a compassionate human being, and I am truly sorry.” He has promised his fans that he will work on his streams and the language that is used and will try to prevent such disgraceful acts from happening again. He added, “People call me ‘anna’ which means ‘big brother’ and I have clearly not behaved like one.”
Opinion: Why Such Statements Breed Toxicity in Gaming
Online harassment is a massive issue with social media platforms giving everyone potential anonymity to say anything without repercussions. Online games and gaming culture are no different, with players hiding behind their gamer tags to attack others personally. Figures like TM Sentinel are respected by many within the Indian Valorant community. Similarly, there are countless other streamers, pro players, and popular figures in gaming and esports who are looked up to by gamers. The use of such unsavoury language can spread toxicity and encourage such behaviour within existing and newer generations of gamers.
There are countless incidents of online toxicity in esports. One of India’s most notable examples is the ban of former PUBG Mobile comentator Mannu 'kRaT' Karki. The caster was caught hurling abuses and making threats in a game of CS:GO. Such behaviour should never be encouraged, and we should try to curb toxicity in gaming and online streaming culture.
AFK Gaming reached out to TM Sentinel for a comment and is yet to receive a response. The article will be updated if or when he responds to us.
