A 21-year-old B.tech student, Niraj Bishnoi, was arrested by the Delhi Police for his alleged involvement in the Bulli Bai application, which reportedly targetted over 100 influential Muslim women, whose doctored pictures were shared over the platform, Git-Hub, alongside lewd comments, as ‘deals of the day’, to be sold in an “auction”.
Following the incident of July 2021, another episode of Sulli deals, the auctioning of Muslim women online by right-wing trolls, surfaced on social media on January 1, 2022.
After journalist Ismat Ara, a victim of both episodes filed a complaint with the cyber cell of the Delhi police, the alleged creator and main conspirator of Bulli Bai was arrested and brought to Delhi, where he confessed to the crime.
“During interrogation, Niraj Bishnoi disclosed that the app was developed in Nov 2021 and updated in Dec’21. He said he created one more Twitter account to talk about the app. Using another account he has stated ‘You’ve arrested the wrong person,” said the Delhi Police Special Cell.
Bishnoi mocked the Mumbai police after three others Shweta Singh (18), Mayank Rawat (21), and Vishal Kumar Jha (21), were arrested based on complaints filed in connection to the case.
According to police, Bishnoi had, in October, created a list of women whom he wanted to defame online on his digital devices, a laptop, and cell phones. He was tracing women activists all over social media and downloading their photos.
Meanwhile, VIT Bhopal suspended him from the university with immediate effect until further notice, even as Bishnoi showed no remorse for his actions, reported NDTV.
Who is Niraj Bishnoi?
The main conspirator of the Bulli Bai app, 21-year-old Bishnoi is a BTech student from Vellore Institue of Technology, Bhopal. He is a resident of Assam’s Digambar area, Jorhat.
The Quint sifted through Bishnoi’s online presence, to understand the mindset of the 21-year-old alleged criminal. His Quora profile and YouTube channel reflect his views, as a teenager, on religion, technology, and women.
Quotes from a source within the Delhi police, as to what was found on his laptop, to The Wire, reflect and verify his pathetic mindset.
1. Interest in technology
Bishnoi’s love and expertise in technology are evident in his actions. He runs a youtube channel, that has videos on tech advice, gaming, and music. His responses to technology-related queries on Quora reflect that he was ahead of most teenagers his age.
Speaking to The Quint, Bishnoi’s father had said that he would be “on the laptop all day”, and claimed that he was innocent.
Bishnoi in the past has created detailed videos for YouTube, a guide to creating a website for free, advised people on IoS systems, and addressed their issues with their smartphones, through the platform.
According to The Wire, a source within the Delhi police informed them that Bishnoi was introduced to the world of technology at the age of 16, as he hacked a college website to avenge his sister being denied admission, a year before.
The code for the Bulli Bai app was reportedly recovered from his “high-end” gaming laptop, alongside games and porn. “He is a porn addict and he has also revealed it during interrogation about it. The data suggests that he has certain abnormal desires for women elder to him, from a certain age group, belonging to a certain community (Muslims),” The Wire, quoted the source.
2. Believe in the superiority of Hinduism-Islamophobia, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Quint’s detailed report that swifts and interprets Bishnoi’s mindset through his responses to questions on Quora, about religion, women, and sexual orientation, between 2016-2018, reflect his belief in the superiority of Hinduism, misogyny, and homophobia.
His responses to questions about religion reflect that his interest and belief in the superiority of Hinduism.
Responding to a question about the history of the black hole he said the following:
The Quint also reported that in a majority of his answers he has used civil language but he tends to abuse a person who may have identified as gay, reflecting his homophobic mindset.
Answering a question about the Bollywood actress, Sunny Leone, Bishnoi calls her “greedy” and blames her upbringing for her choices, in her career.
3. A loner and suicidal tendencies
Reports by the Quint and The Wire have claimed that Bishnoi on multiple occasions, since his arrest, has threatened to end his life by cutting his veins or by hanging himself. He also skips his meals and has to be forced to eat food.
Bishnoi is reportedly addicted to the internet and stays aloof from people. His only conversations took place over the internet and through the fake accounts he created.
“He has created his own virtual world around him,” an acquaintance who did not want to be identified, told the Wire.
Sources within the police have also claimed, “Whenever the interrogation hits a certain peak, he urinates in his pants. He has done this three-four times. We have checked if this is because he has a medical issue, but he doesn’t”.
4. Involvement in Sulli Deals?
Niraj’s Bishnoi’s mindset that has been reflected through his actions and words, certain that he is capable of having created the Bulli Bai application. However, sources have also claimed that he may have been involved with the similar episode, Sulli deals that had surfaced over the internet.
The investigation in the Bulli Bai’ application case has so far suggested that the intention of the mastermind was to get publicity and make an identity of his own, the Delhi Police said on Friday.
Although his involvement in the episodes is evident, it is yet to be ascertained if he is the original creator of the application.
The probe has so far not revealed anyone else’s involvement in motivating Niraj Bishnoi into doing such activities and his action can be attributed to the type of social media content he consumed, the police said.
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