‘Bulli Bai’ App Case: Main Accused Neeraj Bishnoi Remanded To Seven-Day Police Custody

‘Bulli Bai’ app case: Other accused include Vishal Kumar Jha, an engineering student from Bengaluru, Shweta Singh from Uttarakhand, and one of her friends.

New Delhi: Main accused in the ‘Bulli Bai’ app case, Neeraj Bishnoi, was on Thursday remanded to seven-day police custody, news agency ANI reported.

This comes after he was arrested from Assam by Delhi Police Special Cell’s IFSO team and produced before a Delhi court.

Neeraj Bishnoi Confessed, Had Tweeted ‘You’ve Arrested The Wrong Person’

The main conspirator - creator of ‘Bulli Bai’ on GitHub and the main Twitter account holder of the app was brought to the national capital from Assam on Thursday by Delhi Police Special Cell. 

DCP (IFSO) KPS Malhotra informed that Neeraj Bishnoi confessed while the police acquired technical evidence required from his laptop and mobile.

“He has confessed, but most importantly, we’ve acquired technical evidence required from his laptop and mobile. The whole network has been busted,” said DCP (IFSO), as quoted by ANI. 

The Delhi Police Special Cell revealed that during interrogation, Neeraj Bishnoi disclosed “the app was developed in November 2021 and updated in December 2021. He said he created one more Twitter account to talk about the app. Using another account he stated ‘You’ve arrested the wrong person’”. 

The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit (IFSO), Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested Bishnoi from Assam. 

As per ANI, Neeraj Bishnoi, aged 20, is a resident of the Digambar area of Assam’s Jorhat. He was studying BTech at the Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal. 

Other accused include Vishal Kumar Jha, an engineering student from Bengaluru, Shweta Singh from Uttarakhand, and one of her friends. They were arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the ‘Bulli Bai’ app case

Vishal Kumar has been sent to police custody till January 10 by a Bandra court and Shweta Singh is on a transit remand. 

Vellore Institute of Technology Suspends Neeraj Bishnoi 

Meanwhile, the Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal, on Thursday suspended Neeraj Bishnoi from the university with immediate effect until further notice. 

“Mr. Niraj Bishnoi, 20BCG10103 studying BTech since September 2020 via Online has been arrested by Delhi Police in connection with his alleged involvement in Bulli Bai App. Accordingly, Mr. Niraj Bishnoi is suspended with immediate effect from the university until further notice, in view of bringing disrepute to the University and defaming the name of the Institute,” Vice-Chancellor stated in its order. 

‘Bulli Bai’ App Row 

The listing of Muslim women for “auction” on the ‘Bulli Bai’ mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored had led to widespread outrage in the country.

Several police complaints were lodged while leaders from across the political spectrum condemned the cyber harassment of women belonging to the minority community and called for strict action against the guilty. 

As per PTI, the ‘Bulli Bai’ app featured images of Muslim women with a strong presence on Twitter. These female social media users, including journalists, have been singled out based on their strong presence with their photos uploaded on the app.

This is the second such case in less than a year as the app appears to be a clone of ‘Sulli Deals’ which triggered a controversy in 2021.

(With Agency Inputs)