Online hate apps victim receives rape threat; NCW writes to police

The woman, on Saturday, took to social media to share the incident after which Delhi Police responded on Twitter, “The matter has been taken cognizance of, and concerned officials have been directed to take appropriate action”.

National Commission of Women have written to Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana after a 26-year-old woman - who was defamed on the controversial Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai applications - received a call for rape and murder threats on Muslim women. The woman, an educator by profession, said that she is attacked online regularly but the attackers usually hide behind fake names and photographs but on Friday, while going through the comments on her posts, she came across one such offensive comment .

The 26-year-old woman said that she has taken action on the comment made by the Instagram account because she doesn’t want to normalise it. (Representative image)

The woman told HT she then visited the profile, which appeared to be that of a Delhi resident who lives in Dwarka and “wasn’t a bot”.

“After Sulli deals and Bulli Bai case incidents, I don’t bother with personal attacks but I don’t let go if the community or fellow women are attacked,” she said.

NCW in a letter to Asthana asked the police to register FIR in the matter and to apprise the Commission of the matter within seven days. “The police needs to be proactive in taking actions against such hatemongers threatening women on cyber space. Women become the first targets of hate irrespective of religion,” said NCW chief Rekha Sharma.

The woman, on Saturday, took to social media to share the incident after which Delhi Police responded on Twitter, “The matter has been taken cognizance of, and concerned officials have been directed to take appropriate action”.

The woman - who recorded her statement before the court in connection with Sulli Deals probe - said that police are yet to contact her though the authorities have her contact details because of prior probe. “If they don’t act in seven days then I’ll explore other options,” she said.

The two controversial apps featuring doctored photographs of women and offensive comments were circulated on social media last year. The Mumbai and the Delhi police later arrested several people for allegedly creating the apps and circulating it on social media. Among those arrested were Neeraj Bishnoi(21), alleged creator of Bulli Bai app and Aumkareshwar Thakur(26), alleged creator of Sulli deals app.

The 26-year-old woman said that she has taken action on the comment made by the Instagram account because she doesn’t want to normalise it. “So many of my friend and colleagues face online harassment every day. If we normalize it then people will just stop talking about it. Mostly, it has happened also,” she said.