Neeraj Bishnoi (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal/File) Nearly two months after a 25-year-old man from Indore and a 21-year-old student in Assam were arrested for allegedly creating uploading photos of Muslim women on an app alongside objectionable comments, the Delhi Police Special Cell has filed chargesheets against the accused for defaming the women, harassing them and creating a “rift” between communities.
The first app was created in July last year using GitHub, and was soon pulled down by the software firm after several Muslim women lodged complaints with the Delhi and Noida police. A similar app was again created in December last year, which had photos of more than 100 women that the creators insinuated were being “auctioned”. The second app was also pulled down by GitHub.
Sources told The Indian Express that a 700-page chargesheet has been filed in the first case against 25-year-old Aumkareshwar Thakur, who was arrested on January 9 from his home. He is a freelancer who worked with IT companies and ran a web-developing company. He has been named as the “main accused” in the chargesheet.
“Though he wiped out all the data from his laptop and other devices, we interrogated him and found that he wrote the code for the first app. He was also found as a member of a ‘trad’ group called ‘tradmahasabha’. We have evidence related to the group that proves that he created the app with the help of a few other group members,” claimed an officer who had access to the chargesheet.
The chargesheet has been filed under IPC sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion), 153 B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 354 A (sexual harassment) and sections of the IT Act.
In the second case, a chargesheet has been filed against 21-year-old engineering student Niraj Bishnoi and his alleged associates, some of whom have been arrested by the Mumbai Police. Bishnoi was arrested from his house in Jorhat, Assam on January 6 this year.
DCP (Cyber Cell) KPS Malhotra had earlier told the media that Bishnoi was the “main conspirator” in this case. Using one of his Twitter accounts, he had also challenged police online to arrest the culprits.
In the chargesheet, police said they found “firm” technical evidence against Bishnoi. “We have the database and the code script used to make the app. He used the Gurumukhi script while creating the app. This was done to create a rift between communities,” claimed an officer.
A 2,000-page chargesheet has been filed against Bishnoi and others under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different),153 B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 354A (sexual harassment), 509 IPC (word or action to insult modesty of a woman) and sections of the IT Act.
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