GitHub case accused told police he ‘wanted to fight hate with hate’

Attempting to justify the alleged act, he is learnt to have told police that he “saw handles of several journalists, especially Muslim women, and believed that they spread baseless rumours on social media spewed hate against Hindu community and gods”.

Written by Mahender Singh Manral

New Delhi | Updated: January 26, 2022 07:02 AM IST

2 min read

Neeraj Bishnoi (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)

Engineering student Neeraj Bishnoi (21), accused of creating an app using GitHub which used photographs of more than 100 Muslim women alongside disparaging comments, is learnt to have told police in his disclosure statement that he “wanted to fight hate with hate”, “generate unimaginable seethe on Twitter”, and “teach them (the women) a lesson”.

Sources told The Indian Express that Bishnoi, in his statement, said he “started watching hacking videos on YouTube when he was 15 years old”. “He became active on Twitter since 2020 using Proton mail and also used burner emails for verification and a burner phone number from Poland for the one-time password. He also used a profile picture of a Sikh person,” said a police source.

Also Read | ‘Detrimental to career’: GitHub case accused Neeraj Bishnoi moves court for bail

The Cyber Cell of Delhi Police has booked Bishnoi, arrested from Jorhat in Assam, under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153-B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 354-A (sexual harassment), and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).

He has also been booked by the Mumbai police.

“In November last year, he created an account on Github. He allegedly downloaded around 100 pictures of Muslim women from their respective Twitter handles and edited their pictures using photoshop application installed on his laptop from open sources,” said the source.

Mahender Singh Manral

Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More

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