Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has called for action against those behind the ‘Bulli Bai’ case. In a report published on January 4, it urged the Indian authorities to “put a stop to this form of harassment, which is both revolting and potentially dangerous for its targets”.

The ‘Bulli Bai’ website first came to attention on January 1 when journalist Ismat Ara flagged it on Twitter. The journalist was targeted by the page, hosted by GitHub, which put up a fake “auction” using doctored images and derogatory remarks directed at nearly 100 Muslim women.

Ara had filed a complaint with the cyber cell of southeast Delhi district on January 1. Speaking to RSF, Ara said, “In my complaint I have called it a conspiracy because it’s also a sort of coordinated attack against a type of Muslim women…It’s very dehumanising – people are commodifying you, objectifying you.”

In the report, Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk said, “The appearance of this kind of app, offering to place women journalists at the disposal of its users as if they were objects, is absolutely chilling.”

“We urge the Indian authorities to do whatever is necessary to bring those responsible for such apps to justice. To do nothing would be to condone an extremely violent form of harassment, a form of intimidation that discriminates against an entire sector of the journalistic community and exposes those targeted to potential physical attacks.”

The report also referred to the ‘Sulli deals’ case in July last year. It quoted The Print website editor Fatima Khan as saying, “The common thread among all the targets is that these are all vocal Muslim women who aren’t afraid of expressing themselves…The idea is to humiliate them and send the message that they don't belong in public life.”

Commenting on the lack of action and impunity in the ‘Sulli deals’ case, the report stated, “This complicit lack of reaction from the authorities encourages those responsible for the harassment, who are steeped in the climate of hatred towards India’s Muslim minority that is fostered by Hindutva supporters.”

After the ‘Bulli Bai’ case was brought to attention, Mumbai and Delhi police filed separate FIRs on January 2. On Tuesday, police held a 21-year-old civil engineering student from Bengaluru and an 18-year-old girl from Uttarakhand in connection with the case.