Delhi Police opposes bail plea of Bulli Bai app creator Niraj Bishnoi

Niraj Bishnoi. File Pic

The Delhi Police on Tuesday opposed the bail plea of Niraj Bishnoi, alleged creator of the Bulli Bai app, in the Patiala House Court saying that the investigation is at a "very nascent" stage.

Public Prosecutor Advocate Irfan Ahmed appearing for Delhi Police submitted that the contents on the accused's Twitter handles were derogatory, and the accused was using words like "Suli" & "Buli" to target women of a particular community.

"He is the one who had created the website. The Investigation Officer is still investigating and only one victim has turned up so far and there are many others who are yet to be found out," he added.

After taking notes of the submission, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana adjourned the matter for January 27 for further arguments and asked Delhi Police to file a fresh detailed reply in the matter.

Advocate L Ojha appearing for Niraj Bishnoi submitted, "I was arrested as a suspect. It is a bailable offence but during disclosure, sections of the IT Act was slapped on me. The Twitter handle which was used in the offence of committing crime, my client has not used any derogatory language.

"He also said that section 153A has been invoked in the FIR which is about communal harmony. The complaint is by an individual and there is no group or community, he added.

Bishnoi, a 21-year-old engineering student, who is said to be the main conspirator and creator of the Bulli Bai app on GitHub and the main Twitter account holder of the app, was arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit (IFSO) from Assam's Jorhat on January 5, 2022.

Earlier, the Magistrate Court had dismissed the bail petition of Niraj Bishnoi stating that a vilification campaign against women containing derogatory content and offending material having communal overtones was run on this App being created by the accused.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma had said that considering the enormity of the allegation and the stage of the investigation, no ground is made out for grant of bail at this stage.

The court also noted that the facts disclose that the accused created the App "Bullibai" where women journalists and celebrities of a particular community who are famous on social media are targeted and they are projected in a bad light with an objective to insult and humiliate them by objectification.

Delhi Police had earlier said that during interrogation, Niraj Bishnoi disclosed that the app was developed in November 2021 and updated on December 21 and he had said that he created one more Twitter account to talk about the app.

Several complaints were received by police stations in the country regarding the listing of Muslim women for "auction" on the 'Bulli Bai' mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. It has happened for the second time in less than a year. The app appeared to be a clone of 'Sulli Deals' which triggered a similar row last year.

An engineering student from Bengaluru, a young girl from Uttarakhand, and one of her friends have also been arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the 'Bulli Bai' app case.

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