Creator of 'Sulli Deals' app arrested from Indore

The Delhi Police has arrested a man believed to be the creator of "Sulli Deals" app from Indore in Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Sunday.

This is the first arrest made in the "Sulli Deals" app case, police said.

Hundreds of Muslim women were listed for auction on the mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored.

Accused Aumkareshwar Thakur (26) did his BCA from IPS Academy in Indore and is a resident of Newyork City Township, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) KPS Malhotra said during preliminary interrogation, the accused admitted that he was a member of a group on Twitter and the idea to defame and troll Muslim women was shared there.

"He had developed the code on GitHub. The access of GitHub was with all the members of the group. He had shared the app on his Twitter account. The photos of the Muslim women were uploaded by the group members," the officer said.

Investigation has revealed that the accused had joined the group on Twitter by the name of 'Tradmahasabha' in January 2020 using the handle @gangescion.

During various group discussions, the members had talked about trolling Muslim women, the police said.

"He admitted that he had developed the code/app on GitHub. After the uproar regarding the Sulli Deals app, he had deleted all his social media footprints," the DCP said.

The Delhi Police said that further analysis of technical gadgets is underway to find out the codes/images related to the app.

Earlier in July, a case was registered by the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police after it received a complaint about an unidentified group uploading photos of Muslim women on an app.

Delhi Police PRO Chinmoy Biswal had earlier said, "Acting on a complaint received on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal regarding ''Sulli Deals'' mobile application, a case under section 354-A of the Indian Penal Code has been registered and investigation taken up."

The Indore police on Sunday said their Delhi counterparts have not shared any information with them about the arrest.

However, Indore's Police Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra told PTI, "We have come to know only from the media about the arrest of Thakur from Indore by Delhi Police. The Delhi Police have not shared any official information with us in this regard so far."

Mishra also said that the Indore police will consider starting an investigation into the matter after the Delhi Police share with them details of the case.

In "Bulli Bai" case, the Delhi Police on January 1 had registered an FIR in connection with an online complaint submitted by a city-based woman journalist against unknown persons for allegedly uploading her doctored picture on a portal.

According to Delhi Police, Niraj Bishnoi (21) who was arrested from Assam was the alleged mastermind and creator of the ''Bulli Bai'' application. He had disclosed during interrogation that he was in touch with the person behind the Twitter handle @sullideals, the alleged creator of the "Sulli Deals" app that was hosted on GitHub in July last year.