An Instagram group named “Bois Locker Room” has suddenly shot to fame, but for all the wrong reasons possible.
At a time, when we are still debating about consent, this group has earned the dubious distinction of sharing images of underage girls without their knowledge, handing out rape threats and even slut-shaming them. The shocker - the members of this group are just 14-15 years of age.
#BoysLockerRoom has become one of the widely shared hashtags on Twitter from Monday morning.
It all started after an Instagram account by the name of 'niskanagpal' posted a thread of stories filled with activities of a South Delhi boys group. The group had discussed and shared pictures of girls, possibly friends of their mutual friends.
Within hours, screenshots of Niska's Instagram stories went viral on Twitter and other social-media platforms. Her stories exposed the group chats that discussed girls with lewd description.
When Niska and others began to share these chats to reveal their activities, they were met with threats that their nude photos will be leaked. Some even claimed to “make a few calls to turn things around.”
Despite the threats, women in large numbers vented their outrage and their anger against the 'rape culture' in India. They felt that such activities were responsible for promoting even child pornography which is illegal.
Unnerved by all this, the group soon went on to quickly abandon the original group, only to create another Instagram account with the name Boys Locker Room 2.0! They also tried to taint Niska's image by creating fake lewd chats.
It was not long before lawyers involved themselves in the battle, with some coming out in support of Niska, and offering legal aid. The members of the Boys Locker Room group have allegedly been booked under section 66E of the IT Act for Cyber Bullying.
Meanwhile, a group of netizens has accused the girls of hypocrisy. In the chats shared by a user named @crackanksha on Twitter, one Anuvaa can be seen passing vulgar comments about men.
Some have even criticized the girls for talking about the issue. The users have stated that this calling out is nothing less than a 'stunt to increase their followers on Instagram and Twitter.'