Based on a complaint filed by one of the women targeted on the Bulli Bai app, the Mumbai police crime branch’s cyber police station (west) lodged an FIR on January 1 against unknown persons who had developed the app and some Twitter handles that had disseminated its content, under various section of the IPC and the IT Act. The app was hosted on the US-based GitHub on December 31. Doctored photos of at least 100 Muslim women, along with lewd remarks and comments, were posted online.
Twi persons have been arrested in the matter. The first arrest was that of Vishal Kumar, 21, an engineering student from Bengaluru and the second arrest was of an 18-year-old girl, Shweta Singh who hails from Uttarakhand. According to the police, the girl is the main accused in this entire app controversy, however, they are yet to divulge all details.
Vishal was produced before a magistrate court in Mumbai on Tuesday. Watch Video below:
About the Bulli Bai Controversy
The app is seen to be a clone of ‘Sulli Deals’ that triggered a similar row last year. The ‘Bulli Bai’ app published images of Muslim women and posted them in an attempt to “auction” online.
Action Taken
The Information and Technology Ministry took action against the creators of the app and an FIR was lodged by the Delhi Police in this connection.
The action was taken after the matter was brought to the notice of IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw by Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Twitter. According to reports, Delhi Police had registered a case based on a complaint filed by a woman journalist alleging that she was being targeted by an unidentified group of people on a mobile application named `Bulli Bai` created on the GitHub platform.
An FIR was registered under section 509 in Cyber Police station of South-East district, Delhi Police said.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted late on Saturday to inform that action has been taken and the GitHub user behind the `Bulli Bai` app had been blocked and “further action” was being coordinated.
About the Accused
Vishal Kumar, the 21-year-old co-accused in the ‘Bulli Bai’ app case who was detained in Bengaluru on Tuesday, has been remanded to police custody till January 10. The court has also granted police the permission to search Vishal Kumar’s residence. His lawyer has denied the charges, insisting that Kumar has been “falsely implicated”.
Kumar was traced through the IP address of the Twitter accounts that were used to upload the pictures, said the police, who will be questioning him to find out if he is involved in developing the app or is part of a larger gang, among other things.
The prime accused is an 18-year-old girl named Shweta Singh, a Class XII pass out from Uttarakhand. She has been detained and will be produced at Uttarakhand Court for transit remand. She will then be brought to Mumbai. The police team and the girl were in Uttarakhand, waiting for female police officers to arrive from Mumbai to escort her, a district police officer said.
The two are alleged to be friends on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Hence, links have been established.
About Shweta Singh
Shweta has lost both her parents. She lost her father to Covid-19 last year and lost her mother to cancer before this. She has an elder sister who is a commerce graduate, while her younger sister and brother are school students. She was preparing for engineering entrance examinations, reported India Today.
She was using a fake Twitter handle with the name JattKhalsa07. The handle was being used for uploading hate posts and objectionable photos and comments. People associated with her followed the same ideology.
Nepal Connection
The prime accused was allegedly working on the instructions of her friend based in Nepal. Sources from the investigating team said that the primary information gathered from the accused revealed that a Nepal national, identified as Giyou, was instructing her regarding the activities to be carried out on the app. Police are probing his role and that of others who were involved with her.
Mumbai police officials are probing Vishal’s role in the Sulli Deals incident as well, which came to light earlier in 2021. An average student of engineering, Vishal’s role was to edit pictures of women from a particular community and then upload them on the app.
It is also being probed whether the woman created the application or was helped by someone else. She will be brought to Mumbai today and could be produced in a magistrate’s court today.
ALSO READ –
BOIS LOCKER ROOM CASE: Delhi Police Gives Clean Chit To Girl Who Impersonated Herself As Boy & Sent Rape Threats
How Is #HotSanghiWoman Different From #BoisLockerRoom | Twitter Feminists Go Silent
Delhi NGO Files Complaint With Juvenile Justice Board Against Swati Maliwal For Breaching Her Powers As DCW Chairperson
Victim’s Brother: “We As Family Stand Proof To How Devastating Mere Story On Instagram Can Be”
ALSO WATCH –
Manav Singh Suicide Case Update
Join our Facebook Group or follow us on social media by clicking on the icons below
If you find value in our work, you may choose to donate to Voice For Men Foundation via Milaap OR via UPI: voiceformenindia@hdfcbank (80G tax exemption applicable)
Follow Us
