'Bulli Bai' controversy: Action taken by IT Ministry; app maker blocked, FIR lodged

The Information and Technology Ministry has taken immediate action against the app's creators, and the Delhi Police has filed a FIR in this regard, amid mounting fury over the app's creators' presentation of doctored images of hundreds of powerful Muslim women for sale online.

The step was done after Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi brought the problem to the attention of IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw via Twitter. According to sources, Delhi Police had opened an investigation when a woman journalist submitted a complaint stating that she was being harassed by an anonymous group of people through a smartphone app called 'Bulli Bai,' which was developed on the GitHub platform.

According to Delhi Police, a FIR has been filed under section 509 at the Cyber Police Station in the South-East district. This comes six months after Delhi police filed a complaint after images of Muslim women were shared and "auctioned" on a Github app.

Late Saturday, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted that action had been taken and that the GitHub user behind the 'Bulli Bai' app had been blocked, with "more action" being arranged.

"GitHub confirmed blocking the user this morning itself. Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Police authorities are coordinating further action," Vaishnaw said in a reply to a tweet by Shiv Sena`s Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.

Shiv Sena MP had asked, "I have repeatedly asked Hon. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw ji to take stern action against such rampant misogyny and communal targeting of women through #sullideals like platforms. A shame that it continues to be ignored."

Later, Priyanka Chaturvedi expressed gratitude to the Union Minister and expressed hope that the Home Minister's Office and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology MEITY will assist Mumbai Police in locating the perpetrators.

"Sir, Thank you. With due respect, I had shared with you that besides blocking the platform punishing the offenders creating such sites is important. I hope the Home Minister`s Office and MEITY will support Mumbai Police to find these culprits and make them as well as platforms accountable," she tweeted.