VIT Bhopal Suspends Bulli Bai Accused Niraj Bishnoi for 'Bringing Disrepute'

Niraj Bishnoi, the alleged mastermind behind the Bulli Bai app, was suspended from VIT Bhopal on Thursday, 6 January.

(Photo: Accessed and edited by The Quint)

Niraj Bishnoi, the alleged mastermind behind the Bulli Bai app, was suspended by the Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal, on Thursday, 6 January.

Bishnoi was arrested on Wednesday night from Assam and has been brought to Delhi.

The 21-year-old is alleged to have been the developer of the app.

The decision to suspend him came after the university got information about his arrest in connection with the case.

"Mr Niraj Bishnoi...studying BTech since September 2020 via Online has been arrested by Delhi Police in connection with his alleged involvement in Bulli Bai App. Accordingly, Mr Niraj Bishnoi is suspended with immediate effect from the university until further notice, in view of bringing disrepute to the University and defaming the name of the Institute," read the letter issued by VIT, Bhopal.

A top official of the university further said: "We are very shocked to hear this news. Such a young student, and it's hard to wrap our heads around all this fiasco. We have suspended him now, and are waiting for further updates in the matter from the officials."

Who is Niraj Bishnoi?

Bishnoi is the fourth accused to be held in the case. He hails from Jorhat in Assam and is a second-year BTech (computer science) student of Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal.

"He hasn't come to the campus after he took admission in 2020. He was attending online classes and gave online exams. We got the information about his arrest from the media and after shuffling through our records we found his credentials to be true." Amit Amar, PRO VIT, Bhopal told The Quint.

According to Assam Police SP Ankur Jain, Bishnoi came to Jorhat from Bhopal on 25 December. He was arrested by the Assam Police late on 5 January, and was handed over to Delhi Police on 6 January.

More Details

This is the first arrest made by the Delhi Police in the case, after an FIR was filed in the case on 2 January.

Photos of hundreds of Muslim women were misused on the 'Bulli Bai' app, which became public on 1 January.

Earlier in the week, the Mumbai Police arrested three accused – two from Uttarakhand and one from Bengaluru – in connection with the Bulli Bai case.