The Delhi Police has taken suo moto congisance and registered an FIR in the matter of lewd comments passed on Muslim women on the audio chat room app Clubhouse, KPS Malhotra, DCP of the cybercrime cell, Delhi Police told MediaNama. DCP Malhotra said that the FIR has been lodged under the following sections of the Indian Penal Code: 153A - Promoting enmity between different religious groups 295A - Insulting religious beliefs 354A - Assault of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty. "Our social media cell had done the ground work and recommended filing an FIR," Malhotra said. "Normal process has been followed so far because ClubHouse also doesn't belong to India...It's the first investigation into Clubhouse, let's see how they respond and how we cull out the information," he added, in response to questions about actions taken and whether the MLAT route was being used. The Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty signed between the US and India, among other countries, sets a procedure for sharing of information pertaining to legal investigations. The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has also raised the matter with the Delhi Police in a letter addressed to DCP Malhotra on January 18. This isn't the first time that Muslim women have been targeted online in recent times. There have been two reported instances of apps listing Muslim women for a fake online auction. What has the DCW chair demanded? "This is a very serious matter and merits action," DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal wrote in…
