A controversial app with the name of ‘Bulli Bai’ has sparked massive outrage for targeting over 100 Muslim women and using their photos without their consent.
The app, created on a repository hosting service, was found listing the women for ‘auction’ on Saturday, January 1.
After Ismat Ara, a journalist whose photos had also been misused, filed a complaint with the Delhi Police, an FIR under sector 509 of the Indian Penal Code was registered in the case.
Ara posted a screenshot of the app with her photo and name, and tweeted, “It is very sad that as a Muslim woman you have to start your new year with this sense of fear & disgust. Of course it goes without saying that I am not the only one being targeted in this new version of #sullideals. Screenshot sent by a friend this morning.”
Also Read | Explained: What is the ‘Sulli Deals’ app and why it made the news
She also shared screenshots of her complaint to the Delhi Police, writing, “A complaint has been filed by me with the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police for immediate registration of FIR and consequent action against people behind the auctioning of Muslim women on social media.”
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also shared that she had spoken to the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai and Deputy Commissioner of Police Rashmi Karandikar to intervene and apprehend such ‘misogynistic and sexist sites’.
Maharashtra Cyber, a nodal agency which investigates cybercrimes in the state also registered a case on the basis of a complaint made by one of the women whose photo had been posted for auctioning, reported The Wire.
The incident comes less than a year after another app called ‘Sulli Deals’ uploaded and auctioned photos of Muslim women back in July.
The app was later taken down because of the outrage that followed on social media.
Two FIRs were filed by the Delhi Police and Uttar Pradesh Police against ‘Sulli Deals’, but no concrete action has been taken against the culprits so far, news agencies reported.
Both the apps were hosted on the content sharing platform GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft.
On Saturday, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted that the platform had blocked the user responsible for hosting the site.
“It is unacceptable that this project of dangerous anti-Muslim misogyny is back. Appalling indictment of the state of affairs, that not only was nothing done last time, but these forces also felt emboldened to repeat the whole thing because the establishment backs them,” Congress MP Karti Chidambaram tweeted.
