New Delhi: The ongoing probe into the “Sulli Deals” case has revealed that around 30 Twitter handles were misused for uploading the morphed pictures of Muslim women for their purported “auction”, Delhi Police said yesterday.
Delhi Police is trying to identify the members of the group which the 26-year-old Indore youth Aumkareshwar Thakur too was a part of, an official said.
They said Thakur had deleted the contents of his laptop, and his laptop and phones along with those of Niraj Bishnoi, the creator of the “Bulli Bai” app and arrested earlier by Delhi police from Assam, have been sent to the National Forensic Science Lab to ascertain their contents and access details.
While awaiting the forensic lab report, the police are trying to identify other members of the group misusing the Twitter handles, they said.
Accused Thakur, who is alleged to be the creator of the derogatory app which targeted Muslim women, from Indore in Madhya Pradesh was arrested on Saturday night, they said.
Interrogation of Thakur revealed that he is an “introvert” who ran his own web-designing firm with clients even from the US.
When his father was questioned, he told investigators that they were not aware of Thakur’s actions as he slept throughout the day and worked during the night, a senior police officer said.
The accused were part of a traditional group where discussions were held about ancient tradition, the rise and downfall of Hinduism, the police said.
They created various anonymous handles on Twitter and used Virtual Private Number (VPN) to use the internet to conceal their identities.
Police suspect that at least three to five people were misusing these multiple Twitter handles to put up these morphed and objectionable photos and further exchange comments through the alleged “Sulli Deals” app.
Hundreds of Muslim women were listed for “auction” on the mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) KPS Malhotra had said during preliminary interrogation, the accused admitted that he was a member of a group on Twitter where the idea to defame and troll Muslim women was shared.