New Delhi: A channel on the instant messaging app Telegram that allegedly targeted Hindu women has been blocked, said information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday, adding that the government is coordinating with police authorities of states for further action in the matter.The particular channel on messaging platform Telegram was flagged on social media by users who said it was targeting Hindu women, sharing their photos and abusing them.IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday tweeted: “Channel blocked. Government of India coordinating with police authorities of states for action.”Public messages can be broadcast to large audiences via Telegram channels. Channels can have an unlimited number of subscribers and administrators can send messages on them. When a message is posted in a channel, it is signed with the channel’s name and not the user’s.Recently, photographs of at least 100 influential Muslim women were put up for ‘auction’ on an app, sparking global outrage.The uploading of pictures on the ‘Bulli Bai’ app was similar to the ‘Sulli Deals’ case in July last year.The app ‘Bulli Bai’ worked just the same way as ‘Sulli Deals’ did. Once opened, a Muslim woman’s face was randomly displayed. Muslim women with a strong presence on Twitter, including journalists, were singled out and their photos had been uploaded.The cyber cell of Mumbai Police, which is probing the ‘Bulli Bai’ app case, has detained an 18-year-old woman, believed to be the main culprit, from Uttarakhand and arrested an engineering student from Bengaluru, officials had said on Tuesday. Another student from Uttarakhand was also arrested on Wednesday.While there was no actual ‘auction’ or ‘sale’, the purpose of the app – which had been hosted on GitHub – seemed to be to humiliate and intimidate the targeted women.Last week, Vaishnaw had said GitHub, the hosting platform, has confirmed blocking the user and that the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and police authorities were coordinating further action.(With PTI inputs)
