Aumkareshwar Thakur, the 26-year-old accused of creating the ‘Sulli Deals’ app, has been defended by his father, Akhilesh Thakur, who claims that his son is being framed in the case. Akhilesh Thakur stated that he has no knowledge about the app in question and after his son obtained his BCA degree in 2018, he started working as a web designer from home. According to Akhilesh Thakur, two plainclothes Delhi Police officers arrived at their house in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday afternoon, identified his son, and took him to the national capital on an evening flight. The officers also confiscated his son’s mobile phone and laptop. The Delhi Police had earlier arrested Aumkareshwar Thakur in Indore, making this the first arrest in relation to the “Sulli Deals” app case. The app listed Muslim women for “auction” with unauthorized and doctored photographs. Aumkareshwar Thakur completed his BCA course from the IPS Academy in Indore and is a resident of Newyork City Township.
During preliminary interrogation, the accused confessed to being part of a Twitter group where the idea of defaming and trolling Muslim women was discussed. However, Akhilesh Thakur insists that his son, an IT specialist, is innocent and being framed. He added that he has limited knowledge of technology and is unaware of the ‘Sulli Deals’ app. Akhilesh Thakur works in a private company and was away in Nagda town when Delhi Police detained his son. He was informed of the arrest on Sunday morning and had the opportunity to speak to his son, who reassured him not to worry. Akhilesh Thakur plans to travel to Delhi to seek legal assistance for his son. Indore police, on the other hand, claim that they have not received any official information about the arrest from Delhi Police and will investigate the matter once they receive the details. Delhi Police DCP KPS Malhotra revealed that the accused had developed the code for the app on GitHub, a platform shared with all the group members. The app was then shared on his Twitter account, where the group members uploaded photos of Muslim women. The investigation is ongoing, and further analysis of technical devices is being conducted to uncover more evidence related to the app.
Earlier in July, a case was registered by the Delhi Police’s cyber cell after it received a complaint about an unidentified group uploading photos of Muslim women on an app.
According to police, Niraj Bishnoi, the alleged mastermind and creator of the ‘Bulli Bai’ application, had disclosed during interrogation that he was in touch with the person behind the Twitter handle @sullideals, the alleged creator of the ‘Sulli Deals’ app that was hosted on GitHub in July last year.
