New Delhi(PTI): The Delhi Police has sought details from the GitHub platform about the developer of the controversial 'Bulli Bai' mobile application and has written to Twitter for information about the account handler who first posted about the app, officials said on Monday.

The city police also asked Twitter to block and remove on the microblogging platform any "offensive content" shared from the 'Bulli Bai' app', which had put up pictures of hundreds of Muslim women including prominent personalities for "auction", they said.

After widespread outrage and demands for action against those behind the app, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said on Sunday that the government is working with police in Delhi and Mumbai, where cases have been registered in the matter.

He also said that GitHub has blocked the user who had uploaded the app and that the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), the country's nodal agency on cyber security, and police are coordinating further action in the matter.

The National Commission for Women had also written to the Delhi Police to expedite its action in the case related to the app to ensure that such crimes do not recur.

A senior police Delhi Police officer said on Monday, "As part of the ongoing probe into the matter, we have written to Twitter seeking information about the account handle who had first tweeted about the 'Bulli Bai' app.

"This is to know how the person concerned came across the alleged application which had offensive contents being written about women of a particular community."

The police said they have also approached GitHub platform to share details about the developer of the 'Bulli Bai' application which is available on its platform to know the intention and purpose behind the creation of such an application and its whereabouts.

"We have also asked Twitter to remove and block any such offensive contents from its platform immediately which are shared through the alleged app and are related to the entire controversy," he said.

The development comes after the Delhi Police on Saturday night registered an FIR against unknown persons for allegedly uploading a doctored picture of a woman journalist on a website.

The journalist had lodged an online complaint and shared a copy on Twitter.

The case was registered at the Cyber Police station of the southeast district on Saturday night, the police had said.

A senior police officer had said the case has been registered under sections 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 354 A (sexual harassment and punishment for harassment) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint of the journalist alleging that she is being targeted by an unidentified group of people on "Bulli Bai" app.

The police said no arrests have been made in the case so far and a probe is underway.

Earlier in July, a case was registered by the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police after it received a similar complaint about an unidentified group uploading photos of Muslim women on 'Sulli Deals' mobile application.

Police officials said an investigation is on in that matter too, but refused to elaborate.

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Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip) (AP): The Israeli military said Sunday it would pause fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day and open secure routes for aid delivery to desperate Palestinians, launching a series of steps meant to address a surge in hunger in the territory as Israel faces a wave of international criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war.

The military said it would begin a “tactical pause” in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas of the territory with large populations, to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid” entering the territory.

The pause would begin every day at 10:00 am to 8:00 pm local time until further notice, beginning Sunday.

The military also said Sunday that it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food.

Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule.

Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including by close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned.

Israel said the new measures were taking place while it continues its offensive against Hamas in other areas.

The local pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt. On Friday, Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with the militant group.

After ending the latest ceasefire in March, Israel cut off the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other supplies completely to Gaza for 2 ½ months, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages.

Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. Since then, it has allowed in around 4,500 trucks for the UN and other aid groups to distribute. The average of 69 trucks a day, however, is far below the 500 to 600 trucks a day the UN says are needed for Gaza. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of it from its arriving trucks.

As a way to divert aid delivery away from the UN, Israel has backed the US-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which in May opened four centers distributing boxes of food supplies. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near those new aid sites, the UN human rights office says.

Israel has railed against the UN throughout the war, saying that its system allowed Hamas to steal aid, without providing evidence. The UN denies that claim and says its delivery mechanism was the best way to bring aid to Palestinians.

The military said the new steps were made in coordination with the U.N. and other humanitarian groups.

Much of Gaza's population, squeezed by fighting into ever tinier patches of land, now relies on aid.

The war began with Hamas' Oct 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, when militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.