POLICE in India have arrested a 21-year-old engineering student from the southern city of Bangalore in connection with an app that targeted online vocal Muslim women.

The victims of the “Bulli Bai” app included activists, students, journalists and those vocal on social and political issues.

Mumbai police arrested the suspect yesterday after receiving a formal complaint in the case.

They have also registered a case against the app developers and Twitter handles that promoted the app, which was hosted on the web platform GitHub, Indian media reported today.

The app used pictures of their targets to “auction” them.

Those targeted included Fatima Nafees, the mother of Najeeb Ahmed, a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student who went missing in 2016 after scuffles with a right-wing student group.

The mother has been participating in protests and public events to highlight the case of her son.

Even those who are not involved in activism or politics were not spared.

Hana Mohsin Khan, a commercial airline pilot who is active on social media, said she was targeted because of her online visibility and Muslim identity.

Photographs of many victims in the latest lewd app attack were also used to put them up for “sale” in a so-called auction using another app named “Sulli deals” in July last year.

Despite complaints to government authorities, including Delhi police, those behind the earlier case have not been nabbed.

“These instances are not isolated. These are part of the wider anti-Muslim ecosystem,” said Afreen Fatima, a student activist.

Satej Patil, minister of state for home and information technology in Maharashtra, the state whose capital is Mumbai, said yesterday: “I would like to assure all the victims that we are proactively chasing the culprits and they will face the law very soon.”

In comments reported by local media, he sought stricter action by the federal government over the spread of online hate.

“Digital platforms like these are rife with misogyny and communal hatred aimed at women,” he said. – Bernama, January 4, 2022.