Delhi: Schoolboy In Custody, 20 Others Identified For Glorying 'Gang-Rape' On 'Bois Locker Room' Group
India, 4 May 2020 1:04 PM GMT | Updated 5 May 2020 9:48 AM GMT
Editor : Navya Singh
Navya writes and speaks about matters that often do not come out or doesn’t see daylight. Defense and economy of the country is of special interest to her and a lot of her content revolves around that.
Spine-chilling details of the boys' conversation have shocked netizens and yet again raised questions on the safety of women in India.
A Delhi schoolboy has been taken into custody and at least 20 more boys have been identified as a part of an Instagram group chat that talked about gang-raping women.
The boy belongs to a well-known Delhi school. Cyber Cell of Delhi Police has seized his mobile phone. The cyber-crime division has also written to Facebook-owned Instagram for more details of the group
Students of classes 11 and 12 from south Delhi are believed to be involved in the outrageous forum.
What Was Discussed In The Instagram Group?
In a recent incident, a girl from Delhi exposed a group called 'Bois Locker Room' on Twitter that has been formed on Instagram by a bunch of teen-aged boys. Chilling details of the group's conversations have emerged, with the boys discussing and planning to gang-rape girls.
"A group of south delhi guys aged 17-18 types have this ig gc named "boy's locker room" where they shit on, objectify and morph pictures of girls their age. 2 boys from my school are a part of it. MY FRIENDS AND I ARE FREAKING OUT THIS IS SO EWWW AND NOW MY MOM WANTS ME TO QUIT IG," tweeted the girl who exposed the group.
A group of south delhi guys aged 17-18 types have this ig gc named "boy's locker room" where they shit on, objectify and morph pictures of girls their age. 2 boys from my school are a part of it. MY FRIENDS AND I ARE FREAKING OUT THIS IS SO EWWW AND NOW MY MOM WANTS ME TO QUIT IG
— g (@gurrrii) May 3, 2020
Meanwhile, netizens have urged Delhi Police to take strict action against the accused.
The girl further said that her first reaction was to delete her pictures from her Instagram account.
"It's really sad that my first reaction to this entire incident was instantly deleting my pictures from my Twitter account since it is not private. I hate how i questioned myself for posting pictures w my cleavage visible. I HATE THAT I SUCCUMBED TO CREEPS. I HATE THIS TERROR," she tweeted.
It's really sad that my first reaction to this entire incident was instantly deleting my pictures from my Twitter account since it is not private. I hate how i questioned myself for posting pictures w my cleavage visible. I HATE THAT I SUCCUMBED TO CREEPS. I HATE THIS TERROR
— g (@gurrrii) May 3, 2020
Spine-chilling details of the boys' conversation have shocked netizens and yet again raised questions on the safety of women in India.
"We can rape her easily. Am damnn serious"
"I'll come wherever u say. And ek do aur boys ko I will call"
"We will together gangrape her"
The petrifying conversation does not end here. The boys go on to decide that they would leak nudes of girls who have exposed them.
"Bhai jitni bhi ladkiyon ne stories daali hai na sabki nudes leak kar dete hain"
"Bada feminist banna hai na sabko. they'll know. Kahin muh dikhane ke layak nhi rahengi" (They want to become feminists, now they'll know. They won't be able to show their face to society after what we do).
Below are the screenshots of a group of South Delhi guys who have this #Instagram group chat named "Boy's locker room" where they shit on, objectify n morph pictures of girls of their age.
— Abdullah (@_krantikaari_) May 3, 2020
The ss attached also shows a boy convincing the others to gang rape a girl.@DelhiPolice pic.twitter.com/qw4tFSHhg2
This group has been active for quite some time, and is filled with images of underage girls, some of who have no knowledge that their pictures are being used.
As the screenshots became viral, the group reportedly changed their user name. A new Instagram page called 'Bois Locker Room 2.0' has now been created.
Morphing photos and sharing images of people's private parts is a violation of Section 66E of the IT Act, as well as Section 354C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Logical Indian tried to contact Delhi Police but the calls remained unanswered. From what we know, investigation is underway.
The Logical Indian Take
The hanging of the Nirbhaya convicts has done little to weaken patriarchy and the disturbing rape culture of the country.
Brutal incidents of violence have time and again pointed at the unfortunate reality that being a woman in India is not easy. India's rape culture teaches women to dress 'properly' so as to not 'invite trouble'. For years, it has normalised male predatory behaviour.
Society as a whole has failed to shape the attitude of such men. In this incident, specifically, the perpetrators are school-going boys. How much have robust conversations around such topics in schools, public fora and offices been able to change the mindset?
Men have raped month-old babies and women in their 90s. They feel entitled to talk disparagingly about women, shame them for wearing 'inappropriate' clothes and consuming alcohol, make lewd remarks and leer at them.
Society often normalises such behaviour by merely ignoring eve-teasers instead of handing them over to police.
Violence against women is so deeply rooted in the country that the women, and not the men, are afraid of their daily activities. Putting up pictures on social media, wearing clothes of her choice, going to a pub at night, or doing something as normal as walking back home at night after work, have become painful challenges to be overcome every day.
When a rape makes headlines in India, it is followed by demands for retributive justice. Lynching and shooting rapists will not solve the problem eating away at India's vitals.
The first step towards healing will be to accept that sexual violence is a serious problem ravaging the country every second, and ensure that no one is spared from legal actions, not even a schoolboy passing an inappropriate comment about his female classmate.
This story has been updated with the latest information.
Also Read: No, Abusing The Gurugram Woman Who Shamed A Girl For Her Clothes Will Not Solve The Real Problem