Delhi schoolboy who discussed raping girls on Bois Locker Room chat group questioned

The Delhi police on Monday took suo motu cognisance of social media posts, sharing screenshots of an online group -- bois locker room -- wherein some school students had allegedly shared messages about gang-raping their classmates and morphing their photographs. Police have also questioned a 15-year-old in the matter on Monday.

Deputy commissioner of police, cyber crime, Anyesh Roy said the department has come to know about the group through social media monitoring. “No one has come forward with a complaint so far. We have taken suo motu cognisance of the social media posts. We are registering a case under the Information Technology (IT) Act and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code,” he said.

A senior police officer, who wished not to be named, said they have received a complaint on behalf of a South Delhi private school. The officer said one of the boys has been picked up for questioning. “As of now, it seems all the members of the group belonged to one school,” said the officer.

The screenshots of chats on this Instagram group -- bois locker room-- were made public by some girls on social media platforms, including Twitter and Instagram, on Saturday. The incident has created a havoc on social media with questions being raised over the safety of women.

In the shared screenshots, the group members can be seen discussing female anatomy and rating their female classmates on appearance.The group members also talked of taking revenge on girls who had posted about them on social media by circulating the girls’ nude pictures

The group was later deleted from Instagram.

Another senior police officer said the initial investigation suggests that there were around 30 members in the group. “Some of them were involved in such conversations, others weren’t. In the chats, the students had shared morphed images of female classmates and could be seen talking about gang-raping them,” said another officer, adding that some of the group members had taken a screen shot of the conversation and these had made it to the social media.

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has also issued notices to the Delhi police and the Instagram seeking a report in connection with the incident. “It’s reported that the group was used for sharing objectionable pictures of minor girls and young women many a time with their personal information. The members of the group have been reported to have discussed techniques of raping women and gang-raping minors. The commission is in receipt of many screenshots of the group wherein the handle names and usernames are clearly visible,” DCW chief Swati Malliwal said in the orders issued to both the police and the Instagram.

The DCW has sought details from them about the group and its members and an investigation into the matter by Friday.

Several school and college-going girls on Monday said they have been shaken by the incident. “According a tweet, the boys in the group are school-going teenagers. Some girls have even identified them. It’s so scary. They have shared nude pictures of girls and posted rape threats. My friends and I are in shock after reading all those messages. My mother even asked me to quit Instagram,” said Sneha Agarwal, a class 11 student at a South Delhi private school.

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh in a statement said that steps need to be taken to improve cyber laws to create a safe cyber space for women.