'Sulli Deals', form of hate speech in India, must be condemned: UN official
United Nations/Geneva, Jan 12: Harassment of Muslim women in India through social media apps such as "Sulli Deals" must be condemned and prosecuted as soon as they occur, a UN Special Rapporteur has said.
UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Dr Fernand de Varennes took to Twitter to raise concern on the issue of minorities in India, saying Muslim women in India are harassed and sold in social media apps .
"#Minority Muslim women in #India are harassed & 'sold' in #socialmedia apps, #SulliDeals, a form of #HateSpeech, must be condemned and prosecuted as soon as they occur. All #HumanRights of minorities need to be fully & equally protected, Varennes said in a tweet on Tuesday.
The Delhi Police last week arrested Aumkareshwar Thakur, 26, who is believed to be the creator of "Sulli Deals" app from Madhya Pradesh's Indore, the first arrest made in the case.
Hundreds of Muslim women were listed for auction on the mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored.
The accused, a Bachelor of Computer Application degree holder, admitted that he was a member of a group on Twitter and the idea to defame and troll Muslim women was shared there.
"He admitted that he had developed the code/app on GitHub. After the uproar regarding the Sulli Deals app, he had deleted all his social media footprints," a senior police officer said.
In a separate "Bulli Bai" case, the Delhi Police on January 1 registered an FIR in connection with an online complaint submitted by a city-based woman journalist against unknown persons for allegedly uploading her doctored picture on a portal.
The case pertains to the creation of the 'Bulli Bai' app, which targeted Muslim women by putting up their images online for "auction".
According to Delhi Police, Niraj Bishnoi, 21, who was arrested from Assam, was the alleged mastermind and creator of the ''Bulli Bai'' application.
He had disclosed during interrogation that he was in touch with the person behind the Twitter handle @sullideals, the alleged creator of the ''Sulli Deals'' app that was hosted on GitHub in July last year.
#Minority Muslim women in #India are harassed & 'sold' in #socialmedia apps, #SulliDeals, a form of #HateSpeech, must be condemned and prosecuted as soon as they occur. All #HumanRights of minorities need to be fully & equally protected. https://t.co/A8OBQPKVAx
— UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues (@fernanddev) January 11, 2022
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CM Siddaramaiah, FM Nirmala Sitharaman lead polio vaccination drive in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman led the statewide pulse polio vaccination drive on Sunday.
While Siddaramaiah kicked off the campaign along with state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Home Minister G Parameshwara at his residence 'Kaveri' here, Sitharaman, who is in Vijayanagara district in the state, holding Chintan Shivir, administered pulse polio drops to children below five years of age in Kamalapura.
"Smt @nsitharaman launched the Polio Immunisation Drive in Kamalapura, Karnataka, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to safeguarding child health and ensuring a polio-free India," a post on her 'X' account said.
The post further said that children under five years of age were administered Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) drops, "reinforcing the collective effort to protect future generations through timely immunisation."
According to the details shared by the health departments, about 62.4 lakh children have been identified for it.
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"Under the routine immunization programme, every Child is given 5 doses of OPV (Oral Polio Vaccine) and 3 doses of IPV (inactivated injectable polio vaccine) and Government of Karnataka is committed that no child should miss these doses," a government statement said.
Apart from all hospitals in the state, special focus will be given to immunise children living in villages, hilly areas, brick kilns, slums, migrant areas, farmhouses, urban slums. Booths will also be set up in railway stations, metro stations, airports and Seaports, the statement said.
The state health department has set up 33,258 booths and deployed 1,030 mobile teams, 2,096 transit teams, 1,13,115 vaccinators and 7,322 Supervisors.
All children below five years of age will be administered the oral polio vaccine on December 21, 2025.
"Even if your child has received any number of doses of OPV before, it is very essential to immunise your child again during this round," the department said.
In order to allay concerns, the department said the polio vaccine is completely safe and people should not to believe in any false rumours.
Smt @nsitharaman launched the Polio Immunization Drive in Kamalapura, Karnataka, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to safeguarding child health and ensuring a polio-free India.
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) December 21, 2025
On the occasion, children under five years of age were administered Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)… pic.twitter.com/PN4IJUGtnn
ಗೃಹಕಚೇರಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣಾದಲ್ಲಿ "ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಲಸಿಕಾ ದಿನ"ವನ್ನು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಪಲ್ಸ್ ಪೋಲಿಯೊ ಲಸಿಕೆ ಹಾಕುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಉದ್ಘಾಟಿಸಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 21, 2025
ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬರೂ ತಮ್ಮ 5 ವರ್ಷದೊಳಗಿನ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿದ ತಪ್ಪದೇ ಪೋಲಿಯೊ ಲಸಿಕೆ ಹಾಕಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ "ಪೋಲಿಯೊ ಮುಕ್ತ ಭಾರತ"ದ ನಮ್ಮ ಅಭಿಯಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಂಬಲವಾಗಿ ನಿಲ್ಲಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಮನವಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ.
ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಸಚಿವರಾದ ದಿನೇಶ್… pic.twitter.com/uClMoqOnyB
