New Delhi: If you search Instagram for “Bois Locker Room”, multiple accounts — some private, some open and one with a bio saying “feminist” — still spring up, three years after an online group of the same name made headlines in May 2020.
The 50-member ‘Bois Locker Room’ group on Instagram, allegedly involving teenage boys from prominent South Delhi schools, was reported for allegedly criminal, obscene and inappropriate content at the time.
Three years since then, data from 27 mobile phones seized from the members of the group has not yet been recovered. Moreover, the report of the forensic analysis of the devices has not been received.
The case files now lie dormant and untouched in hard drives and diary entries of police officers. The trial in the case is also pending.
The Delhi Police Cyber Cell, which took suo motu cognisance of the matter and filed an FIR, had in May 2020 questioned 27 alleged active members of the ‘Bois Locker Room’ group — 12 minors and 15 adults — and seized their phones for scrutiny. The admin of the group, an 18-year-old resident of Noida, was also arrested and granted bail the same day, on 5 May, 2020.
A 15-year-old minor was also called in with his parents, questioned and counselled by the Child Welfare Committee. He was then handed over to his parents and not sent to any juvenile home.
The police investigation led by Inspector Arun Verma later found that a conversation casually discussing the rape and gangrape of a girl had not occured in the private ‘Bois Locker Room’ group on Instagram. Instead, it was a separate Snapchat conversation between two individuals, initiated by a girl, according to police sources.
Three years since then, the report of the forensic analysis of the mobile phones seized has not been received and case files lie dormant, Delhi Police sources told ThePrint.
A 140-page chargesheet was filed in the case against the group admin, but charges are yet to be framed; the trial can begin only after this.
Police sources said they were “awaiting results from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) on the mobile phones, which could bring out more details and point out more suspects in the case”.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Patiala House Court) has taken cognisance of the chargesheet, according to the court website, and eight hearings have taken place in the case, with the next scheduled for 5 February, 2024.
The reason for adjournment of the last hearing (5 September, 2023) is stated as “CFSL/FSL report not filed”. According to the last court order, the investigating officer has been asked to appear before the court with the FSL report at the hearing in February.
In the meantime, the media glare on the case faded away even as concerns over digital spaces being unsafe for women were flagged in the Bulli Bai, Sulli Deals and Clubhouse app cases that came to light in the subsequent years.
Also Read: Bashed Bois Locker Room, silent on Snapchat controversy. Women, where is your outrage now?
The ‘rape’ test
According to a police source, an individual had posted two chat screenshots, one of the ‘Bois Locker Room’ and another of Snapchat, on social media, which raised suspicions that potentially criminal content and discussions of rape took place on the ‘Bois Locker Room’ Instagram group.
The ‘Bois Locker Room’ chat screenshot was leaked by one of the group’s members as he was “uncomfortable” with the conversations that took place, the source said.
Talking about the Snapchat conversation, the police source said that a girl using the fake name ‘Siddharth’ had suggested a plan of “aggravated sexual assault on herself” to a male friend on Snapchat, merely to gauge his reaction.
“She claimed she wanted to test his character and so asked him if he wanted to rape another girl. The boy immediately backed out and refused to communicate further with her. On the side, another screenshot was shared (on social media) from the ‘Bois Locker Room’ group in which obscene comments were passed and girls were body shamed. It thus appeared that the rape conversation took place on the ‘Bois Locker Room’ group,” the source said.
The boy, in a bid to alert his peers, shared his Snapchat conversation with ‘Siddharth’ with the same girl and his other friends. One of his friends then posted the conversation on Instagram and it subsequently started circulating on social media, the source added.
An FIR was registered in the case on 4 May, 2020, under Indian Penal Code Sections 465 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, which relate to the transmission of obscene and sexually explicit material in electronic form.
According to the source, police teams spent three days questioning the girl but “she kept changing her stories each time until the third day when she finally admitted to her plan”. She was also counselled and sent back home without any legal action.
The police also identified the Instagram account of a 15-year-old boy who had allegedly shared the most offensive content on the ‘Bois Locker Room’ group. The IP address of the group admin led the investigating team to an 18-year old who had just passed his Class 12 exams and was waiting to take admission at a reputed private university.
Sections removed from chargesheet
Investigators told ThePrint that while the initial FIR was lodged under various sections of the IPC and IT Act, after “intense investigation”, it was found that several sections were uncalled for.
Therefore, the final chargesheet, sources said, was filed only under Section 67 of the IT Act for “transmitting obscene content in electronic form” on 29 December, 2020. A police investigation report was filed against the minor boy before the juvenile board on 23 October, 2020.
Under section 67 of the IT Act, an individual shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to Rs 5 lakh.
The police also found, said the sources, that the ‘Bois Locker Room’ group was created in January 2019. Further, the 18-year-old’s mobile number was registered in his grandmother’s name, and the minor boy was using his mother’s phone.
“There was no rape talk on the ‘Bois Locker Room’ group. They shared lewd comments and obscene content,” a second police source told ThePrint.
According to police sources, a supplementary chargesheet will be filed if any incriminating evidence is found in the FSL report.
Since then, life has moved on for the group members and the admin, who had used the ‘guch.X’ Instagram id. He has completed a degree from a private university, according to police sources.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Locker room boys to IT cell men: India’s rape culture grows without shame or consequences