Social:Bulli Bai case

From HandWiki
Short description: A case of an online fake auction of Muslim women in India

The Bulli Bai case is related to an online mock auction of Muslim women in India . Photos of prominent Muslim journalists and activists were uploaded on the Bulli Bai app without their permission where they were auctioned virtually. Like Sulli Deals, the app did not actually sell anyone, but harassed and humiliated these women. The app has been removed from the Internet platform GitHub, where it was hosted, following outrage over the app.[1][2][3]

The police investigating the case, have linked the creators of the app to alt-right group "Trads" (stands for "traditionalists), who promote genocide against minorities.[4] Vishal Kumar Jha (in Bengaluru), Shweta Singh (in Uttarakhand), Mayank Rawal (in Uttarakhand), Niraj Bishnoi (in Jorhat) and Neeraj Singh (in Odisha) are culprits arrested by police for creating the Bulli Bai app.

Background

On 4th of July, 2021 several Muslim women pictures were posted on twitter as "deal of the day".[5][6] After which several accounts started speaking against the Sulli Deals app which was hosted on GitHub as "open-source project." After multiple complaints, GitHub took the app down and suspended the "Sulli Deals" account which hosted the app.[7] Delhi Police investigated the matter and did not make any arrests in the Sulli Deals case until end of 2021. In January 2022 Delhi police claimed to have arrested the creator of Sulli Deals from Indore Madhya Pradesh.[8]

Incident

Reportedly on 1 January 2022, a GitHub Pages site was launched in the subdomain "bullibai.github.io" that contained allegedly doctored pictures of numerous Indian women that includes journalists, social workers, students and famous personalities, accompanied by derogatory content. These pictures were reportedly taken from their respective Social Media accounts before being edited and uploaded to the website for an auction without their consent. All of these women were Muslims.[9] The GitHub page and the user account that launched it has since been removed by GitHub following complaints about objectionable content.

Investigation

Following women's complaints, police in at least three states namely, Mumbai, Delhi and Uttarakhand have launched an investigation into the Bulli Bai app.

Accused

According to the police investigating the case, all the four accused were reported to be influenced by Hindu right-wing ideology.[10] The police have linked the creators of the app to alt-right groups inspired by Neo-Nazism. The members of these groups call themselves "Trads", short for traditionalists. These groups promote rhetoric for genocide of Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs and other Indian minorities.[4] The creators of the app had used Sikh religion names to mislead people. According to Mumbai Police, this could have caused religious enmity and violence.[11] On 9 March 2022, the Delhi Police filed a charge sheet, charging the accused persons with offenses including Section 153A (Promoting enmity between groups), Section 153B (causing disharmony), 354A(3) (Sexual harassment), and 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.[12]


PC 153A

Vishal Kumar Jha

On 3 January 2022, a 21-year-old second-year engineering student named Vishal Kumar Jha was detained from Bengaluru by Mumbai Police Cyber Cell, in connection with the case.[13]

Shweta Singh

On 4 January 2022, an 18-year-old woman named Shweta Singh and the alleged mastermind behind this app was arrested by a Mumbai Police team from Uttarakhand and is currently being held as the prime suspect of the probe.[14] She told the police that "her actions were based on Hindu right-wing ideology, which she had picked up on social media platforms Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter".[10]

Mayank Rawal

On 4 January 2022, a 21-year-old Mayank Rawal, accused of promoting Bulli Bai on twitter was detained from Uttarakhand by Mumbai Police Cyber Cell.[15]

Neeraj Bishnoi

On 6 January 2022, a 21-year-old Neeraj Bishnoi, resident of Assam's Jorhat and a second-year engineering student of Vellore Institute of Technology in Bhopal was arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell's IFSO team in collaboration with Jorhat Police from his residence in Jorhat after being accused of creating the Bulli Bai website and the twitter handles that promoted it.[16]

Neeraj Singh

Neeraj Singh, age 28, arrested on 20 January 2022 is the fourth person to be arrested by Mumbai police, and the fifth overall. Police claimed that he was involved in both Bulli Bai and Sulli Deals cases, and had planned and executed the two apps. He is an MBA graduate from Jharsuguda district in Odisha.[16]

Reactions

The journalist body, Editors Guild of India released a statement taking note of the incident and stated, "Though law enforcement agencies have arrested those supposedly behind such apps, there is a need for further investigation to ensure that all those behind such despicable acts, even beyond those arrested, are brought to justice."[17][18]

On 11 January 2022, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, said, "Minority Muslim women in India are harassed and ‘sold’ in social media apps, #SulliDeals, a form of hate speech, must be condemned and prosecuted as soon as they occur. All Human Rights of minorities need to be fully and equally protected".[19]

See Also

2022 Karnataka hijab row

References

  1. ↑ "India police make arrests in online 'auction' of Muslim women". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/5/india-police-arrests-bulli-bai-online-auction-muslim-women. 
  2. ↑ "Bulli Bai app: Fourth man held over the auction of Muslim women". BBC News. January 6, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-59891036. 
  3. ↑ "India: 'Bulli Bai' app creator brought to Delhi, to be produced before court". https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/india-bulli-bai-app-creator-brought-to-delhi-to-be-produced-before-court-1.84793273. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "These Muslim Women Were Fetishized for Their Faith and 'Auctioned' Online" (in en). www.vice.com. 12 January 2022. https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3n3j4/muslim-women-fetishized-auctioned-online-india. 
  5. ↑ Khan, Hana Mohsin. "The dread of discovering I'm on an app that auctioned me | VIEW" (in en). India Today. https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analysis/story/discovering-yourself-sulli-deals-list-1895867-2022-01-04. 
  6. ↑ Bakshi, Asmita. "'We won't shut up': Muslim women put up 'for auction' in India" (in en). www.aljazeera.com. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/12/sulli-deals-a-virtual-auction-of-indian-muslim-women. 
  7. ↑ "'Sulli Deals': How photos of Muslim women were misused on a GitHub app" (in en). DAWN.COM. 6 July 2021. https://www.dawn.com/news/1633549. 
  8. ↑ "Delhi Police arrests mastermind behind Sulli Deals app from Indore". The Economic Times. 9 January 2022. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/delhi-police-arrests-mastermind-behind-sulli-deals-app-from-indore/articleshow/88786362.cms. 
  9. ↑ "Bulli Bai app controversy: All you need to know | India News - Times of India". https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bullibai-app-controversy-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/88647836.cms. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "India: 'Auction' of Muslim women on apps reveals widespread online abuse". Deutsche Welle. 10 January 2022. https://www.dw.com/en/india-auction-of-muslim-women-on-apps-reveals-widespread-online-abuse/a-60379358. "The creator of the app, Neeraj Bishnoi, including three other perpetrators, Shweta Singh, Mayank Rawal, and Vishal Kumar Jha, are believed to be influenced by Hindu right-wing ideology. All of them were between the ages of 18 and 25 years, police said." 
  11. ↑ Waje, Hemant (5 January 2022). "Bulli Bai accused used Sikh names to mislead: Mumbai Police" (in en). Rediff. https://www.rediff.com/news/report/bulli-bai-accused-used-sikh-names-to-mislead-mumbai-police/20220105.htm. 
  12. ↑ Reporter, Staff (2022-03-09). "Delhi police files chargesheets in Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai app cases" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhi-police-files-chargesheets-in-sulli-deals-and-bulli-bai-app-cases/article65205846.ece. 
  13. ↑ "In 'Bulli Bai' Case, Engineering Student Detained In Bengaluru: Report". https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/in-bulli-bai-case-engineering-student-detained-in-bengaluru-report-2686917. 
  14. ↑ Divyesh Singh (5 January 2022). "Lost father to Covid, mother to cancer: All about Bulli Bai mastermind Shweta Singh". https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bulli-bai-deals-shweta-singh-accused-arrested-nepal-mumbai-police-1896116-2022-01-05. 
  15. ↑ "Who is Mayank Rawal, third arrest in 'Bulli Bai' app case". 5 January 2022. https://groundreport.in/who-is-mayank-rawal-third-arrest-in-bulli-bai-app-case/. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "'Bulli Bai' case: Mumbai cops arrest MBA graduate Neeraj Singh from Odisha" (in en). The News Minute. 20 January 2022. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/bulli-bai-case-mumbai-cops-arrest-mba-graduate-neeraj-singh-odisha-160061. 
  17. ↑ "From Tek Fog to 'Bulli Bai', Editors Guild condemns 'online harassment of women journalists'". Newslaundry. 11 January 2022. https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/01/11/from-tek-fog-to-bulli-bai-editors-guild-condemns-online-harassment-of-women-journalists. 
  18. ↑ "'Misogynistic, abusive': Editors' Guild demands SC probe into Tek Fog app" (in en). The News Minute. 11 January 2022. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/misogynistic-abusive-editors-guild-demands-sc-probe-tek-fog-app-159735. 
  19. ↑ "UN official says app targeting Muslim women form of hate speech, must be condemned" (in en). The Indian Express. 13 January 2022. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/un-official-app-targeting-muslim-women-hate-speech-condemned-7719342/. 



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Social:Bulli_Bai_case&oldid=931100"