A Delhi-based journalist has filed a complaint with the cyber cell of south-east district police, alleging that unidentified persons uploaded doctored photos of her on a webpage alongside objectionable comments "aimed at insulting Muslim women". This comes six months after police in Delhi and Noida registered cases in connection with photos of Muslim women being uploaded on a Github app. No arrests have been made in connection with that complaint. DCP (south-east district) Esha Pandey confirmed they have received a complaint. “We are looking into it and appropriate legal action will be taken,” she said. Sources in the cyber cell claimed they had identified some accounts in connection with the objectional posts, which were deactivated following the police complaint. Police are trying to get further details. The complainant states, “I was shocked to find out this morning that a website. had a doctored picture of me in an improper, unacceptable and clearly lewd context. I am often the target of online trolls and this seems to be the next step in such harassment. This needs immediate action as the same is clearly designed to harass me and other similarly situated independent women and journalists.” She further wrote: “The term bulli-bai itself seems disrespectful and the content of this website is clearly aimed at insulting Muslim women as the derogatory term buli is used exclusively for Muslim women and the entire website seems to have been designed with the intent of embarrassing and insulting Muslim women. The term bulli of the day further objectifies and dehumanises women.” “As a law abiding citizen of this country and as a Muslim woman, I am deeply disturbed by the alleged tweet, which is headlined as 'your bulli bai of the day' and is accompanied by the doctored photograph. Social media being a form of public expression cannot be used to demean and derogate women in general and Muslim women in particular by misogynist sections of society. This is nothing short of online harassment and the referred tweet for criminal action,” she states. “The github is violent, threatening and intending to create a feeling of fear and shame in my mind as well as in the minds of women in general, and the Muslim community, whose women are being targeting in this hateful manner. In fact, this website has been targeting other Muslim women as well. It is indeed disappointing to see the impunity with which such hate mongers continue to target Muslim women, without fear of any sanction whatsoever," she writes. She requested the Delhi Police to lodge an FIR and take action against the unknown persons, and also act against the internet hosting company, Github. On July 7 and 8 last year, police in Noida and Delhi registered separate FIRs against unknown persons for creating an app where photos of women were uploaded with an intention to defame and harass them - the text accompanying the photo read ‘Deal of the day’. The photos of the women, including a pilot and journalists, were taken from their social media pages.
