Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police have taken cognizance of a complaint of online harassment filed by a city-based journalist and researcher after her contact information was shared on the ‘Bulli Bai’ app.
A photo of the lady, who formerly worked for several media outlets, was shared on the app along with many other Muslim women whose profiles were put on sale. The app was displaying images of Muslim women for auction and indicating that they were for sale. Previously, an app called ‘Sulli Deals’ did the same thing.
The journalist used Twitter to bring attention to the issue of online abuse. The journalist wrote, “All it took to snap me out of a Twitter break was learning that someone auctioned my photo.”
“The unfortunate reality of being a Muslim woman in India is that I have prepared myself for far worse. No amount of caution will spare us till we overthrow fascists. #BulliDeals,” she wrote.
Photos of many Muslim women were shared on an app named ‘Bulli Bai,’ causing a major backlash on Twitter.
‘Sulli Deals’ 2.0: Muslim women harassed and ‘auctioned off’ once again
The president of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi, has asked chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, IT minister KT Rama Rao, and DGP M Mahendar Reddy to take action.
Owaisi also took to his Twitter handle and wrote, “A symbolic FIR is not enough. They should be arrested. The government should avail the services of CI cell & anti-radicalisation department of the force.”
However, the authorities took notice of the online complaint received from the city-based victim and began steps to track down the individuals responsible for creating and running the app.
A police official stated, “An internet complaint was made, and an investigation into the matter has begun. The victim stated that she will file a formal complaint on Monday.”
Police in Mumbai, New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have registered cases and are probing the complaints received from victims.
