Delhi teen held for discussing rape of girls in 'Bois Locker Room' chat group

Delhi Police on Tuesday (May 5) arrested a school student and identified 20 more teenagers who allegedly have been a part of an Instagram group chat which discussed the rape of schoolgirls, sparking massive outrage after screenshots of those messages circulated on social media on Sunday (May 3).

The phone of the arrested South Delhi teen, who was studying in a reputed school, was seized by the Cyber Crime branch and is being investigated for more details.

The Instagram group called ‘Bois Locker Room’, formed by a group of boys aged between 14 and 18 years, openly spoke about raping their female classmates, with the users also sharing photos of the girls without their consent and going on a body-shaming spree.

After a few public figures exposed the group chat on Sunday, the Delhi police started investigating the now deactivated group and identified more than 20 boys who were active members.

The cybercrime division of the police has also written to Facebook-owned Instagram for details on the group that is every parent’s worst nightmare, reported NDTV.

The chat stirred a controversy on social media platforms Instagram and Twitter, with people using the #BoysLockerRoom hashtag to share screenshots of the chats that showed the teen boys slut-shaming, objectifying schoolgirls, and openly discussing how to gangrape them.

“After we came to know about this matter, we registered an FIR under sections 465 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and sections 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) and 67A (publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act in electronic form) of the IT Act. We are probing the matter and collecting all technical evidence,” Delhi Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell) Anyesh Roy told The Indian Express.

Taking note of the incident, the Delhi Commission for Women issued notices to Instagram and Facebook, asking for a detailed report on the action taken by them in the case by May 8.

“It has been reported that the members of the group have discussed techniques of raping women and gang-raping minors. This is a very serious matter in which an online platform is being openly used for illegal activities. The commission has instituted an inquiry into the matter,” the Delhi Commission for Women said in its notice.

Breaking –

DCW chief @SwatiJaiHind issues notice to Instagram and Delhi Police in the matter of a group named "boys locker room" being used by some miscreants to share objectionable pictures of minor girls and planning illegal acts such as rape of minor girls. #boyslockerroom pic.twitter.com/PyzxGCv7kt

— Delhi Commission for Women – DCW (@DCWDelhi) May 4, 2020

Several social media users said the incident should not be taken casually or normalised.

Bois locker room is straight up sexual harassment. If you're even thinking about defending it you're complicit in every form of discomfort and abuse a girl has faced since puberty, sometimes even before. Stop normalising this under the garb of 'boys will be boys' it's disgusting.

— Shreemi Verma (@shreemiverma) May 3, 2020

Tell us again how hanging four rapists in a day was supposed to strike fear in the hearts of men and boys? States can hang all the rapists they want, #boyslockerroom will continue unless the root cause of patriarchy, entitlement and toxic masculinity is addressed.

— #MeTooIndia (@IndiaMeToo) May 4, 2020