Bulli Bai Row: Mumbai Police Detains 21-Year-Old Student From Bangalore

After massive social media outrage over the controversial mobile application, Bulli Bai, floating pictures of Muslim women without their consent for alleged "auction", the Mumbai police has detained a suspect.

The arrested accused was reportedly detained in Bangalore and was taken to Mumbai for further probe by the police. He is a 21-year-old student. The man who is yet to be identified was allegedly one of the five followers of Bulli Bai application. According to reports, the man is likely to be arrested by the police in Mumbai.

Bulli Bai Case:

It started when pictures of about 100 Muslim women, including some renowned journalists, were uploaded to the controversial mobile application. It allegedly encouraged people to bid on the "Bulli deals of the day" auction.  The application was made by an unknown developer on the Microsoft-owned GitHub platform. After the police complaints, the application has been deleted from the platform. According to reports, the GitHub platform in its statement to media said that they have policies against content and conduct which involves discrimination, harassment and inciting violence.

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This is the second time that one of GitHub's mobile application has targeted women of the Muslim community. The Delhi Police on Monday asked the platform to provide them with information about the person who developed the application on its platform. The police also asked Twitter to remove all the "offensive content" related to the mobile application.

In July 2020, a mobile application named 'Sulli Deals' included the similar criminal content. Several pictures of Muslim women across the country were uploaded without their consent and were auctioned in the application's "Sulli deals of the day' section. Many women journalists from Mumbai and Delhi filed a complaint against the Bulli Bai app and sought strict action against the culprits. The National Commission for Women also asked the Delhi police take stringent action and ensure that such a thing is not repeated in the future.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Information Technology Minister of India gave his statement on Sunday and said that the government is working with police forces in Mumbai and Delhi on the matter.