“Would The Court Say Same For Muslim Youths?”: Outrage As Bulli Bai, Sulli Deals Creators Granted Bail As ‘First Time Offenders’

A mix of outrage and horror best describes many people’s responses, after a Delhi court granted bail to the alleged creators of derogatory ‘Sulli Deals’ and ‘Bulli Bai’ apps, Aumkareshwar Thakur and Niraj Bishnoi on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police K.P.S. Malhotra told a news agency that the court had granted bail to the accused on ‘humanitarian grounds’ and the accused were ‘first-time offenders’. Considering the ‘well-being’ of the accused, the trial court said that no shortcoming in the investigation could be pointed out.

He said that the basic ground of granting bail was the forensic lab reports, however, reports from intermediaries were still awaited.

In July 2020, an by the name of “Sulli Deals” emerged, putting several Muslim women up for “auction” to online bidders. The term “sulli” is a derogatory word used to refer to Muslim women. The app was taken down following massive outrage. However, no legal action was against the creator of the app.

On January 1, 2022, an identical app called “Bulli Bai” surfaced. Photos of hundreds of Muslim women were listed online for ‘auction’. The women listed, include journalists, writers and activists, vocal on social media and elsewhere against the atrocities on Muslims in the country.

Niraj Bishnoi, a 20-year-old, developed the ‘Bulli Bai’ app, and Aumkareshwar Thakur, 25, created ‘Sulli Deals’. Both the accused were arrested by the Delhi police on January 6 & 8.

The charge sheet against the duo states that the accused “targeted girls from various communities,” “defamed Muslim women”, and “intended to create disharmony.”

However, their release has outraged many, with several people asking if the courts would say the same to Muslim youths who are languishing in jails for years under draconian laws.

“Would the court say the same for Sharjeel (Imam) and several other Muslim youth who are incarcerated only because of their identity,” said activist Asif Mujtaba. “It’s around 800 days since Sharjeel is in prison for the crime he never committed. Is the well being of Muslim youths not a concern?” he asked.

Amina Kausar, an activist based in US who was  one of targets of the accused wrote: The man who put me and many other Muslim women on auction on #BulliBai is FREE now.

One Twitter user wrote: “Welcome to India no matter what you’ve committed, called for genocide/riots, lynched someone, put Muslim Women online for auction, anything but it must be against Muslims, Either you won’t get booked Or if get booked, courts will award you bail.”

The official Twitter of the Congress in Kerala also slammed the bail and wrote: “Aren’t those women auctioned online human too? Why does justice turns out to be selective when it comes to women and others who have been in jail for years without proper trials?”