Bulli Bai Accused Vishal Jha Tests COVID-Positive, Quarantined in BMC's Centre

The police custody of other two suspects – Mayank Rawat and Shweta Singh – has been extended till 14 January.

The Mumbai Police has confirmed the authenticity of this photograph of Vishal Kumar Jha, which appeared first on Twitter.

(Photo: Namita Chauhan\The Quint)

Vishal Kumar Jha, the first accused arrested by the Mumbai Police in 'Bulli Bai' app case, was on Monday, 10 January, sent to judicial custody under medical observation by a Bandra court, after he tested positive for COVID-19.

He has been quarantined in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC's) Kalina centre.

The police custody of the two other suspects – Mayank Rawat and Shweta Singh – has been extended till 14 January, police prosecutor Prasad Joshi confirmed.

On 1 January, photos of hundreds of Muslim women were uploaded by an unidentified group on an app by the name of 'Bulli Bai' using GitHub. This comes nearly six months after the 'Sulli Deals' controversy, where pictures of Muslim women were similarly misused.

What Happened During the Court Hearing?

The Mumbai Police, during the court hearing, had demanded further custody of the accused in the Bulli Bai app case on the grounds that they were using 10-12 accounts to spread the objectionable content on social media platforms.

All the accounts were using proxy and hidden IP addresses, meant to misguide the investigation, said the police. The accused were consciously part of the crime which leaves the scope for investigation, the police had argued during the hearing.

A laptop, four mobiles, and six SIM cards have been seized from the three accused, from which the data remains to be analysed.

The police prosecutor also said that they want to establish further links of the accused and investigate the motives behind the crime committed.