New Delhi: In the notorious case of "Sulli Deals", where Muslim women were put to "auction" online, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena granted permission to prosecute the chief accused, PTI reported.
The accused, 26-year-old Omkareshwar Thakur, will be prosecuted under CrPC section 196 for offences against the State and for criminal conspiracy to commit such an offence, PTI learned from sources on Sunday.
Police were waiting for the LG's sanction to prosecute the man.
Thakur was a student of Bachelor in Computer Applications (BCA) from IPS Academy in Madhya Pradesh's Indore. It was he who allegedly created the Sulli Deals App and Sulli Deals Twitter handle, which auctioned Muslim women on social media platforms. The said auctions intended to insult them and the entire Muslim community.
Hundreds of Muslim women were there in the list for auction on the app, with photographs acquired without their permission and doctored.
It was on July 7, 2021, the police registered a case on the issue, and Thakur got arrested on January 2022.
"The LG is of the considered view that a prima facie case is made out against the accused, and therefore, the sanction is granted for prosecuting him," a source told PTI.
Post the arrest of Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) KPS Malhotra had said that the accused had admitted the crime and that he was a member of a group on Twitter. The idea was to defame and troll Muslim women, Malhotra said.
"Thakur had developed a code on GitHub. The access to GitHub was with all the members of the group. He had shared the app on his Twitter account. The photos of the Muslim women were uploaded by the group members," the officer had said.
The officer further said that a probe into the matter revealed that Thakur joined the group on Twitter by the name of "Tradmahasabha" in January 2020 using the handle @gangescion. Through many group discussions, the members talked about trolling Muslim women, he said.
Police received information on Thakur on questioning Niraj Bishnoi (21). He is believed to be the creator as well as the mastermind behind the 'Bulli Bai' application, which also auctioned Muslim women.