Prominent Muslim women were auctioned on the 'Bulli Bai' app (Representational)
21-year-old Neeraj Bishnoi, a conspirator in the 'Bulli Bai' app case, was arrested by the Delhi Police from Assam's Jorhat district today. The police shared details of how the operation unfolded in the northeastern state that finally led to the arrest of the man who "auctioned" prominent Muslim women online.
During the raid at the residence of the second-year engineering student, the police recovered the device on which the app was allegedly created, officials told NDTV.
"We had heard about the Bulli Bai app online. On Wednesday, we were contacted by a police team from Delhi led by the DCP after they reached Assam. They said they are searching for Neeraj Bishnoi and sought our help. We were only given an IP address. After locating Bishnoi, we went with the Delhi police team to arrest him," Ankur Jain, Jorhat Superintendent of Police, told NDTV.
"He was arrested last night and is already in Delhi. It is a matter of the Delhi Police," he added.
"What we heard is that he was earlier in Rajasthan and was staying in Assam from December 24."
However, Bishnoi's family members have not been arrested, the police officer said.
Neeraj Bishnoi's father spoke to NDTV about the night the police arrested his son
Speaking to NDTV, the engineering student's father Dasarath Bishnoi elaborated on what happened the night the police came to arrest Neeraj. "Around 11:15 pm last night they came and said they are from the Delhi Police and asked if this is Neeraj's residence. They then asked me to open the gate and call Neeraj. I said that he is sleeping. But they insisted I wake him up and bring his laptop. Neeraj stood first in his Class 10 with 86 per cent marks. He has been at home and is always online on his laptop. He told the police he had done nothing," he said.
This is the fourth arrest in the case that had sparked furore after prominent women journalists, lawyers, and activists - all Muslims and known to be vocal on social and political issues - were targeted. Doctored photographs of the targets, spanning age groups, were put up on social media networks as part of the disgusting "auction".
The earlier three arrests were made by the cyber cell of Mumbai Police. 21-year-old student Mayank Rawal, 19-year-old Shweta Singh and engineering student Vishal Kumar Jha have been arrested earlier. The Mumbai Police has said Shweta Singh is the mastermind in the case.
The horrific app appeared to be a clone of "Sulli Deals" which had triggered a row last year by offering users a 'sulli' - an insulting term used by right-wing trolls for Muslim women. That was also hosted by the same platform, GitHub.