Bulli Bai app case: Mumbai court denies bail to 3 accused

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A court has rejected bail pleas of three students arrested in connection with a case pertaining to the 'Bulli Bai' app, which targeted Muslim women by putting up their images online for "auction".

The three accused are Vishal Kumar Jha, Shweta Singh and Mayank Rawat. Singh (18) and Rawat (21) were arrested by the Mumbai police's cyber cell from Uttarakhand on January 5, while Jha was nabbed from Bengaluru on January 4. They were denied bail by a metropolitan magistrate in suburban Bandra. A detailed order was not yet available.

Earlier, the police had opposed their bail claiming the accused use names belonging to the Sikh community for their social media accounts with an intention to breach peace in the society and create animosity among religious groups. The police have told the court that all the three accused were operating multiple social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Gmail. The cyber cell has said many of the accounts were deleted or suspended for posting defamatory content and information regarding the same is yet to be procured. The Mumbai police registered an FIR in the case following complaints made by several women, who were targeted by the 'Bulli Bai' app.

The app made public the details of several Muslim women, allowing users to participate in their 'auction'. Meanwhile, two more persons - Niraj Bishnoi and Omkareshwar Thakur - who had been arrested by the Delhi police, were on Thursday brought to Mumbai by the city police's cyber cell on transit remand for questioning in the case. Bishnoi had been arrested in another Bulli Bai app case lodged by the Delhi police, while Thakur had been apprehended in the 'Sulli' deals app matter. The Delhi police's special cell, which nabbed Bishnoi from Assam, has claimed he was the main creator of the Bulli Bai app.

Police have claimed the accused arrested in the Bulli Bai app case were also active in the 'Sulli' deals app which came to light in July 2021. The 'Sulli' deals app had triggered widespread outrage as it had put out details of more than 100 prominent Muslim women, allowing users to participate in their ''auction''. Bishnoi and Thakur were produced before the Bandra magistrate court, which remanded them in police custody till January 27.

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