Take suo moto cognizance of 'bois locker room' incident; SC lawyer writes to Delhi HC Chief Justice
May 06, 2020
New Delhi [India], May 6 : Supreme Court lawyer Neela Gokhale has written to Delhi High Court Chief Justice DN Patel requesting him to take suo moto cognizance of the incident related to a bunch of schoolboys allegedly sharing objectionable pictures of minor girls and discussing techniques of raping women on a social media group.
In the letter dated May 4, Gokhale asked the Delhi High Court Chief Justice to direct the authorities to register FIRs against the perpetrators and initiate an investigation under the offence punishable under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, the Information and Technology (IT) Act, 2008 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Gokhale said that Delhi Police and the administration are already occupied with regulation and enforcement of various measures being taken in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"However, the seriousness and gravity of the illegal activities of a large group of boys from Delhi, discussing ways and means to rape and sexually harass women, including minor and under-age via social media platforms, has compelled me to address the present letter to your lordship," the letter said.
It said that a group of boys, allegedly from South Delhi, between 16-18 years of age, have created a group chat on a social media under the name 'Bois locker room'.
"The contents of the conversation and chats on the group, which have now emerged in the public domain, are extremely shocking. The content is related to obscene and lewd comments on the private body parts of the women, with further threats and offers to leak morphed nude pictures and circulate them," the letter said.
"Private photographs of women and girls were shared accompanied by foul and degrading comments in respect of the girls in the photos. Furthermore, the conversation between the members went to the extent of making plans to 'gang rape' the said minors," it added.
The letter said that it shocks the conscience of any right-thinking member of society to see that schoolgoing boys are indulging in "borderline paedophilia and misogynistic behaviour" and are using social media platforms to perpetrate crimes against women and propagate rape culture.
It also said that the incident came to light when a member of the group leaked screenshots of the conversations and sent them to a few girls, who then posted the same on their profiles, with the intention to call out the illegal and abominable activities of these boys.
The letter said that the incident has attracted major backlash on social media, following which members of the group have urged the co-members to leave the said group to avoid being traced and make another one.
It said that the perpetrators have reportedly made a new Instagram page 'Bois Locker Room 2.0' with fake accounts, chats of which have threatened the girls who have reported the said activities.
