Bulli Bai Case
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The Bulli Bai case related to an online mock auction of Muslim women in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. 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 GitHub () is a Proprietary software, proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug trackin ...
, where it was hosted, following outrage over the app. The police investigating the case, have found that the creators of the app identify as " Trads" (stands for "traditionalists”), who promote genocide against minorities.


Background

On 4 July 2021, several Muslim women pictures were posted on Twitter as "deal of the day", after which several accounts started speaking against the Sulli Deals app which was hosted on GitHub as an "open-source project." After multiple complaints, GitHub took the app down and suspended the "Sulli Deals" account which hosted the app. Delhi Police investigated the matter and did not make any arrests in the Sulli Deals case until end of 2021. In January 2022, the Delhi police claimed to have arrested the creator of Sulli Deals from
Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...
,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
.


Incident

Reportedly on 1 January 2022, a
GitHub GitHub () is a Proprietary software, proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug trackin ...
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. The GitHub page and the user account that launched it has since been removed by GitHub following complaints about objectionable content.


Accused

According to the police investigating the case, all the four accused were reported. The police have linked the creators of the app to
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groups inspired by
Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
. The members of these groups call themselves " Trads", short for traditionalists. These groups promote rhetoric for genocide of Muslims and other Indian minorities. 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. On 9 March 2022, the
Delhi Police The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Delhi Police falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. In 2024, the sanctioned strength of Delhi Police w ...
filed a
charge sheet In policing on the Indian subcontinent, a chargesheet is prepared after first information reports (FIRs), and charges an individual for (some or all of) the crimes specified in those reports. Once the chargesheet has been submitted to a cour ...
, 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. On 29 March, the court granted bail to two men accused of creating the apps, on humanitarian grounds adding that the accused was the "first-time offender".


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." On 11 January 2022, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
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".


Notes


References

{{Sexual abuse 2022 in India January 2022 crimes in Asia 2022 controversies Misogyny Sexual harassment in India Cybercrime in India Cyberbullying 2022 in Internet culture Islamophobia in India Indian websites Internet properties established in 2022 Internet properties disestablished in 2022 Internet trolling Online obscenity controversies Internet forums Internet-related controversies Stalking Delisted applications Hindutva Online sex crimes Sexism in India