Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena has granted sanction to prosecute Aumkareshwar Thakur, the main accused in the ‘Sulli Deals’ case, in which Muslim women were “auctioned” online, sources at Raj Niwas said on Sunday.
Delhi Police will now be able to prosecute Thakur under Section 196 CrPC (prosecution for offences against the State and for criminal conspiracy to commit such offence).
Thakur, a Bachelors in Computer Applications from Indore, had allegedly created Sulli Deals App and Sulli Deals Twitter handle with the aim of insulting Muslim women and the community.
While granting the sanction, the L-G said he is “of the considered view that a prima facie case is made against the accused, therefore sanction is granted for prosecuting the accused for the commission of the offences detailed in the FIR”.
Mr. Saxena added the “auctioning” of Muslim women on social media platforms in 2021 had attracted a massive outrage and severe criticism from all sections of the society.
The FIR against Thakur was registered on July 7, 2021, and Thakur was arrested in January 2022.
The police gathered information about Thakur while interrogating Niraj Bishnoi, 21, believed to be the creator and alleged mastermind of the ‘Bulli Bai’ application, which also allegedly “auctioned” Muslim women online.
After Thakur’s arrest, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) K.P.S. Malhotra had said that the accused had admitted that he was a member of a group on Twitter and the idea to “auction” and troll Muslim women was shared in that online space.
