LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: An 18-year-old Lucknow boy studying in a prominent school was picked up by a Delhi police team late Friday for questioning in the controversial online Clubhouse chat that offended the Muslim community, particularly women.
Delhi police sources said the boy hadn’t been arrested or detained since he was cooperative. His mobile phone is being examined to verify allegations that he created and moderated a chat group on Clubhouse under the ID “Bismillah-Ul Bilal Khan” on January 17, and later handed over control to another participant using the ID “Sallos”.
The boy’s family said they are unaware why police whisked him away around midnight. His father, who is in hospital with Covid, told TOI that the police team did not provide details. “I am not aware of the matter,” he said.
The boy’s father is an accountant in the school where he studies. The school principal said the boy was a disciplined student and good in academics. A friend said he could not imagine the boy could indulge in something for which the police would come calling. “There must be some misconception about what he’s being questioned about.” A partial screen recording of the Clubhouse chat, in which the participants allegedly made obscene remarks about Muslim women, later went viral
“Before proceeding with any arrest, the authenticity of the recording is to be ascertained, along with voice matching of the suspects. We have to rule out any voice modulation in the recording, as the same may affect the case on a later stage,” said DCP KPS Malhotra from the intelligence fusion and strategic operations unit.
Mumbai police registered an FIR on January 17 and arrested three youths from Haryana, all members of the Clubhouse chatroom. So far, the only purported evidence that Delhi police have is the first source of the screen and audio recording.
Clubhouse does not record or retain audio conversations in its chatrooms.
The latest online chatroom controversy comes on the heels of outrage over the ‘Sulli Deals’ and ‘Bulli Bai‘ apps on GitHub, both of which were used to target Muslim women. The masterminds of these two apps have been arrested.
Delhi police said teams were sent to six states to trace the Clubhouse users. A participant with the user name “:koko0107” was identified as a young girl from Kerala. She had participated in a conversation with another woman from Delhi and made general remarks, sources said. Her mobile phone and notepad have been seized.
Someone with the ID (@versace_on_me) has been identified as a 20-year old boy from Jodhpur.
Delhi police sources said the boy hadn’t been arrested or detained since he was cooperative. His mobile phone is being examined to verify allegations that he created and moderated a chat group on Clubhouse under the ID “Bismillah-Ul Bilal Khan” on January 17, and later handed over control to another participant using the ID “Sallos”.
The boy’s family said they are unaware why police whisked him away around midnight. His father, who is in hospital with Covid, told TOI that the police team did not provide details. “I am not aware of the matter,” he said.
The boy’s father is an accountant in the school where he studies. The school principal said the boy was a disciplined student and good in academics. A friend said he could not imagine the boy could indulge in something for which the police would come calling. “There must be some misconception about what he’s being questioned about.” A partial screen recording of the Clubhouse chat, in which the participants allegedly made obscene remarks about Muslim women, later went viral
“Before proceeding with any arrest, the authenticity of the recording is to be ascertained, along with voice matching of the suspects. We have to rule out any voice modulation in the recording, as the same may affect the case on a later stage,” said DCP KPS Malhotra from the intelligence fusion and strategic operations unit.
Mumbai police registered an FIR on January 17 and arrested three youths from Haryana, all members of the Clubhouse chatroom. So far, the only purported evidence that Delhi police have is the first source of the screen and audio recording.
Clubhouse does not record or retain audio conversations in its chatrooms.
The latest online chatroom controversy comes on the heels of outrage over the ‘Sulli Deals’ and ‘Bulli Bai‘ apps on GitHub, both of which were used to target Muslim women. The masterminds of these two apps have been arrested.
Delhi police said teams were sent to six states to trace the Clubhouse users. A participant with the user name “:koko0107” was identified as a young girl from Kerala. She had participated in a conversation with another woman from Delhi and made general remarks, sources said. Her mobile phone and notepad have been seized.
Someone with the ID (@versace_on_me) has been identified as a 20-year old boy from Jodhpur.
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