Bulli Bai case: Delhi police arrests app's main creator- 20-yr old Bhopal student

In a major development in the Bulli Bai case, Delhi police on Thursday, arrested a 20-year-old engineering student, terming him the main conspirator & creator of the offensive app and the administrator of the app's Twitter handle. Police claim that Neeraj Bishnoi (20), hails from Assam's Jorhat and is a B.Tech student of BTech student of Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal. Over 100 influential Muslim women have been 'auctioned' on open-source platform GitHub's 'Bulli Bai' app.

Bulli Bai main creator arrested

Other arrests in Bulli Bai controversy

As of Wednesday, three arrests were made by Mumbai police - two from Uttarakhand and one from Bengaluru. The police arrested Shweta Singh (19), Mayank Rawal (21) and engineering student Vishal Kumar (Jha) in connection to the application. Police suspect the involvement of more people in the case.

Addressing a press conference, Mumbai Commissioner Hemant Nagrale revealed that the app was promoted via Twitter handles with Sikh names like 'Jatinder Singh Bhullar, 'Harpal' etc. "The case is sensitive so cannot provide detailed information which can hamper the investigation.  As we know there are other accused involved who can run away or destroy the evidence," said Nagrale.

Muslim women targetted online

Barely six months after the shocking 'auction' of Muslim women via 'Sulli Deals', a second such application 'Bulli Bai' has appeared on the same platform where over 100 top influential Muslim women including journalists were 'auctioned'. Taking to Twitter, many Muslim women, on Friday, shared screenshots of their social media photos being shared on GitHub, allegedly allowing users to participate in an 'auction'. The screen of the app reads 'Your Bulli  Bai for the day' and then tags the woman via her Twitter handle. The victims have expressed anguish at the specific targetting of Muslim women, blaming right-wing hardliners for these 'auctions'.

Aghast at the 'auction', Opposition MPs - Priyanka Chaturvedi, Asaduddin Owaisi and Shashi Tharoor termed it 'communal targeting', misogynistic, urging police to take action on the perpetrators. Moreover, Union I-T minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that GitHub has blocked the user and Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) is coordinating with police for further action. NCW chief Rekha Sharma too took note of the issue and MP minister Narottam Mishra stated that they will act if govt receives a complaint.

After one of the journalists whose details were shared on GitHub filed a complaint, Delhi police have filed an FIR. Meanwhile, after Priyanka Chaturvedi's intervention, Mumbai police too have registered an FIR under several sections. Delhi police has also written to Twitter and GitHub seeking information on the app creators.