21 year-old Niraj Bishnoi, the main suspect in the creation of the 'Bulli Bai' app that targeted and 'auctioned' off Muslim women has threatened to commit suicide in police custody DCP of Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) special cell KPS Malhotra informed NDTV.
"The accused has confessed that he knows the creators of 'Sulli Deal', the app where Muslim women were auctioned. He has also accepted that he has access to the user account of Sweta Singh, who has been arrested by Mumbai police", said Malhotra.
He has twice tried to self-harm during the interrogation period, with police describing Bishnoi as both 'remorseless' and very hard to crack. Police have also admitted that this could be due to his mental state or an attempt to delay the investigation.
A former second year BTech student of VIT Bhopal, Bishnoi has confessed to hacking websites in both India and Pakistan since he was 15. His account on the question and answer forum Quora has also revealed early extremist leanings. He has also admitted to having control over the Twitter account of 18 year old Shweta Singh whom police have described as the mastermind behind the creation of the app.
He is the fourth person to be arrested in connection with the 'Bulli Bai' app, following those of Mayank Rawal, 21; Shweta Singh; and Vishal Kumar Jha.
The 'Bulli Bai' app was hosted on GitHub and contained photos and details of prominent Muslim women journalists and activists, advertising them as 'Bai of the Day'. It is similar in operation to the 'Sulli Deals' app which was busted six months ago and which tried to 'auction' off Muslim women.
On the question of Niraj being in touch with the creator of the Sulli Deals app, DCP Malhotra said: "Further technical analysis is being done to identify the culprit. Forensic examination of the technical devices is underway."