A fifteen-year-old boy was held in south Delhi. Police during the investigation found out that some students of South Delhi schools have deliberately created a group on Instagram in the last week of March and started adding their friends on it with the sole motive of insulting the underage girls.
Contents
- 1 About the case
- 2 Laws involved
- 3 My opinion while doing the research on this case
- 4 Dear readers,
- 5 📱 Social Media & the “Bois Locker Room” Case: A Critical Analysis
- 6 🧾 What Was the “Bois Locker Room” Incident?
- 7 ⚖️ Legal and Institutional Response
- 8 📌 Laws Involved:
- 9 🚨 Police Action:
- 10 🧠 Social & Psychological Dimensions
- 11 🔍 Key Issues Raised:
- 12 🧑⚖️ Legal and Ethical Takeaways
- 13 ✅ What Schools, Parents, and Platforms Can Do:
- 14 📚 Educational Impact
- 15 📌 In Summary
- 16 🧠 Final Thought
About the case
A fifteen-year-old boy was held in south Delhi. Police during the investigation found out that some students of South Delhi schools have deliberately created a group on Instagram in the last week of March and started adding their friends on it with the sole motive of insulting the underage girls.
The group was named as “Bois locker room” in which young boys between the age group of 14–16 years started sharing photos of underage girls posted by them on their private accounts along with passing on crude comments ranging from body shaming to jokes on sexual assault and rape.
The screenshots of the group chats had been shared extensively on Instagram and Twitter. The cyber cell on their own motion did the deep investigation of the matter and filed an FIR. As per the senior police officer, the administration of a well known private school has filed the complaint at the Saket police station, requesting them to investigate the incident.
The boy who shared the photos of underage girls was apprehended by the authorities.
Laws involved
The Delhi Police has registered the case under provisions of the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act), and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In addition to these, the sharing of images of underage girls could also be a violation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO Act).
Therefore the Delhi Police Cyber Security has lodged an FIR under the following sections:
Section 465 (forgery),
Section 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation),
Section 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record),
Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and
Sections 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) and
Section 67A (publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act in electronic form) of the IT Act.
My opinion while doing the research on this case
During the lockdown period, there is a massive change in children’s psychological condition due to restriction in going outside or performing any of the outdoor activity which leaves no option with them but to stick to their gadgets scrolling the web.
The kids of Insta chat group are the future of our homeland and casually talking of gang-raping girls and women, swapping their personal photos without their consent; with not even having fear of exposure to cybersecurity is the beginning of the rape culture.
The most painful thing is people commenting “does the rape happened”.
Dear readers,
these horrified conversations are the initial stage of planning before doing scenario. The rape has already being planned by them in their mind. All the candle marches and mourn will be of no use unless you stop/control the people of such mindset.
Due to all these menaces, people in social media are provoked already and asking to detain the rest of the members of the group. This will not solve the problem in the long term but will make them more aggressive and defensive. The aim of the society should be to get them out from this kind of behaviour, as the children of this age having a conversation like that are already under the high-risk behaviour.
What can be done is providing them counselling and making them understand that what they did was wrong and was a completely undesirable behaviour.
Stringent strictures need to be made on social media for the apps like Instagram, Facebook etc. for restricting its users share disrespectful and unethical images, news, comments, information of any strata of society.
Apart from that, I always feel that parents’ involvement in their child’s life is very important when it comes to things like giving moral education and teaching values to them. They should teach them discipline before giving them direct access to their smartphones or any other gadget which helps them explore the online world. They need to understand their roles and responsibilities towards their child before leaving them alone altogether.
So, what happened was morally incorrect. Still, People who’ll do that must be ready to bear the consequences by the Law.
📱 Social Media & the “Bois Locker Room” Case: A Critical Analysis
The “Bois Locker Room” incident refers to a controversial and disturbing social media case in India that brought to light issues of cyberbullying, toxic masculinity, online privacy, and juvenile justice.
🧾 What Was the “Bois Locker Room” Incident?
- In May 2020, a private Instagram group chat titled “Bois Locker Room”—allegedly created by teenage boys from Delhi—was exposed.
- The group shared:
- Sexually explicit images of underage girls (often without consent)
- Objectifying, misogynistic, and abusive comments
- In some cases, discussions of sexual assault and gang rape
The screenshots went viral, sparking public outrage across India.
⚖️ Legal and Institutional Response
📌 Laws Involved:
| Law | Relevance |
|---|---|
| IT Act, 2000 (Sec 67, 66E) | Obscene material, privacy breach |
| IPC Sections 354, 509, 500 | Outraging modesty, defamation, criminal intimidation |
| POCSO Act, 2012 | If victims are minors |
| Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 | Since most accused were under 18 |
🚨 Police Action:
- The Delhi Cyber Crime Unit began investigations.
- Multiple minors were detained and questioned.
- Phones were seized to trace origin and content sharing.
- One case turned out to be a fake identity created by a girl pretending to be a boy to “test” another boy, complicating public perception.
🧠 Social & Psychological Dimensions
🔍 Key Issues Raised:
- Toxic Masculinity
- Normalization of sexual aggression and “locker room talk” among teens.
- Digital Misuse by Minors
- Access to smartphones and social media without digital literacy or accountability.
- Lack of Sex Education
- Absence of proper sex/gender education in schools fuels ignorance and harmful behavior.
- Online Privacy vs. Public Trial
- Leaked chats led to mass naming/shaming—raising concerns about vigilantism and trial by media.
- Mental Health Impact
- Both victims and accused faced severe psychological distress. One student allegedly committed suicide due to social media backlash.
🧑⚖️ Legal and Ethical Takeaways
✅ What Schools, Parents, and Platforms Can Do:
| Stakeholder | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Schools | Introduce digital behavior and gender sensitization programs |
| Parents | Monitor online activities; teach empathy and respect |
| Social Media Platforms | Faster content moderation and stricter reporting tools |
| Lawmakers | Strengthen cyber laws for minors without being purely punitive |
📚 Educational Impact
The incident prompted:
- Online campaigns like #StopRapeCulture
- Calls for compulsory digital citizenship education
- Panels on cyber ethics in adolescence
📌 In Summary
| Topic | Insight |
|---|---|
| Nature of incident | Online misogyny and harassment by teenage boys |
| Legal response | Cyber laws, POCSO, Juvenile Justice Act invoked |
| Social impact | Raised national awareness on digital toxicity |
| Ethical dilemma | Balancing justice with juvenile reform and privacy |
🧠 Final Thought
The “Bois Locker Room” case wasn’t just about a chat group—it reflected a larger cultural and educational gap in how we prepare young people for the internet, gender respect, and social responsibility.
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