Sulli Deals case: IBHAS to investigate accused Kunal Sharma's claims of mental illness

Silli Deal Image Courtesy:siasat.com

The Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) is to investigate Sulli Deals accused Kunal Sharma’s claims of mental issues, said Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on August 18, 2021.

DCW Spokesperson Rahul Tahiliani told SabrangIndia, “Sharma’s mother claimed before the concerned court that her son suffered from mental issues and required professional attention.” Accordingly, the court has sent the accused to IHBAS to confirm this claim.

DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal tweeted the court order on Wednesday afternoon stating that, “Crime against women of any religion is not tolerated!”

एक व्यक्ति ने इंस्टाग्राम पर मुस्लिम लड़कियों के नम्बर डाले और लोगो से कहा की उनका रेप करो & इस्तेमाल करो।
हमारे पुलिस को नोटिस के बाद मामले में FIR दर्ज हुई और कोर्ट ने उसको मानसिक रोगी पा के IHBAS में भर्ती कराया। किसी भी धर्म की महिलाओं के खिलाफ अपराध बर्दाश्त नहीं है!
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) August 18, 2021

Sharma was in the news for allegedly putting up derogatory posts “auctioning” Muslim women and allegedly encouraging men to sexually assault them. To this end, he shared the contact details of many Muslim women using the Sulli Deals app and website and named the whole incident “Muslim Ladki Patao Abhiyan” (programme for wooing Muslim women). At the time, the DCW filed an FIR with the Delhi police against the communal and sexist act.

Sharma is one of the disciples of right-wing hate-speech spokesperson Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati. Around August 12, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) approached the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to take cognisance against his Islamophobic statements aiming to provoke young Hindu men against Muslims. Yati reportedly calls such people “his children.”

Speaking to SabrangIndia Co-Founder and Editor Teesta Setalvad, Noor Mahvish, one of the women who was lsited for auction on the app said, “I feel like I am being punished for being an outspoken Indian Muslim woman. The incident made me feel like I wasn’t safe anymore. But I will not stay silent.”

While the DCW has confirmed that the complaint has been filed with the DCP Cyber Cell, the survivor nonetheless condemned the police for their lax attitude from the start. It was quite an ordeal for the survivor to get the FIR filed in the first place.