'My Son is Being Framed': Father of 25-Year-Old Arrested in Sulli Deals Case

Delhi Police arrested Aumkareshwar Thakur from Indore, MP on 8 January in connection with the Sulli Deals case.

Aumkareshwar Thakur was arrested by Delhi police on Saturday 8 January in connection to the Sulli Deals case from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. 

Altered By The Qunit

"My son is being framed by those arrested by the police in the case earlier," said Akhilesh Thakur, father of Aumkareshwar Thakur who was arrested in connection with the Sulli Deals case. The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police arrested him from Indore, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, 8 January.

"My son said that he's not involved in any way, and if he is found to be involved, he should be hanged. He told me not to worry and said that the people who have named him are only trying to defame him," Akhilesh told The Quint.

According to Akhilesh Thakur, his son, an "IT expert", is being framed by those arrested by the police in the Bulli Bai case.

Aumkareshwar is now in police custody and his mobile phone and laptop have been seized.

'Aumkareshwar is Being Punished for His IT Expertise': Brother

Aumkareshwar Thakur's family, meanwhile, is denying all claims of him being part of the case. His brother Mandleshwar told The Quint that Aumkareshwar is being framed because of his IT background.

"He wasn't on social media and both of us mostly stay at home," he said.

"He used to work as a freelance web designer and developer. He was very good with computers even before he went to college. Aumkareshwar was the family's favourite child and no one ever complained about his behaviour. There's a Muslim family right across our house and you can ask them if we ever did anything wrong. He is being framed."

Mandleshwar, Aumkareshwar's Brother

'He Was Member of a Trad Group on Twitter': Police

This arrest comes six months after Sulli Deals app was created on the internet hosting platform, Github.

A senior officer of the special cell working the case said, "He has done BCA from IPS Academy, Indore. During preliminary interrogation, he had admitted that he was member of a 'trad' group on Twitter and the idea was shared to defame and troll Muslim ladies."

"He had developed the code on GitHub. The access of GitHub was with all the members of the group. He had shared the app on his Twitter account. The photos of the Muslim women were uploaded by the group members."

KPS Malhotra, DCP (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operation) Unit, Delhi Police

"He had joined a group on Twitter by the name of Tradmahasabha in January 2020 using the Twitter handle @gangescion. During various group discussions, the members had discussed about trolling Muslim community women. He had developed the code/app on GitHub. After the uproar regarding the sullideals app, he had deleted all his social media footprints," the official added.