In the past week, if there was something that gripped people's attention apart from coronavirus spread in India, it had to be chilling details from Instagram chat group Bois Locker Room. Started with some screenshots shared on Twitter, the entire case gave out instances of how rape culture is commonly prevalent among people's conversations. And by people, we don't mean the elderlies, but how it all starts young, in the age group of 14 to 17. The initial chat group screenshots revealed boys sharing morphed pictures of girls, nude photos and passing vile comments. There was also a Snapchat screenshot which showed a certain boy boasting and threatening to gang-rape a girl. Since then, a probe has been initiated leading to more murky details being revealed. With other rape threats and a case of suicide also getting linked to Bois Locker Room chat controversy, we try and simplify, to give you a timeline of how exactly these events/chats have transpired.

On May 4, some Twitter users from Delhi shared pictures from a boy chat group named Bois Locker Room linking a Snapchat screenshot which had chats glorifying "gang-raping girls". As per the tweets, the boys were aged between 17-18, some of them even 14-year-olds. The user also revealed that two of the boys are from her school. The tweet went viral and people sought police intervention. The murkiness of the matter was just getting started.

As the probe began, on May 6, the Delhi police made their first arrest in connection to the case. A Class 12 student, who was the admin of this chat group on Instagram, was arrested. The police also identified 21 members of this group but the admin said that he did not know all of them personally. The mobile phones of 15 group members were confiscated and sent for forensic analysis. After the report of his arrest, there were claims of formation of another group called Bois Locker Room 2.0. But the admin denied any such group.

Meanwhile, in Gurugram, a class 12 student committed suicide on May 5 night allegedly after molestation accusations against him. The news made it to headlines on May 6 and it was quickly linked to the Bois Locker Room case. The 17-year-old boy had jumped to his death from his family’s 11th floor home in Gurgaon. As per reports, he was named and shamed in an Instagram post by a girl and fearing police investigation, he took the extreme step. The said girl posted that she was attacked two years ago and "was tired of keeping it a secret." After the boy's friend harassed him, he took the step to end his life. This case is now being linked to Bois Locker Room, but we would like to bring it to your notice again that these are two different cases.

On May 7, a whistleblower gave out more murky details about the Instagram group. He said most girls whose pictures were shared in the group are underage and many of them knew about the Bois Locker Room group. The minor victims were scared of exposing the truth.

On May 10, the "truth" of the Bois Locker Room was out! This "truth" however, does not pertain to the actual Instagram group! The Snapchat conversation between two boys where one expressed intentions of gang-rape was actually a fake account created by a minor girl itself, said the Delhi Police probe! The boy initiating the gang-rape plan 'Sidharth', was a girl who apparently wanted to test the character of the boy, who in the chats declined the idea. The boy then shared this screenshot on Instagram, which went viral again and got easily mixed up with the Bois Locker Room case.

"Using the fake identity of a male person, she suggested a plan to sexually assault herself. The purpose of her sending such chat messages using a fake, fictional identity was to check the reaction of the boy and the strength of his character, especially when someone talks bad things about the girl herself," a police officer was quoted as saying. Bois Locker Room Instagram Chat Leaks & Worrying 'Gang Rape Comments' by Delhi Teenage Boys Is a Grim Reminder of Mumbai IB School Students Talking About 'Raping' Classmate.

Coming to the current update on the original case of the Bois Locker Room on Instagram, it is still being probed and investigated by the police. The mobile phones of the students have been sent for forensic scanning. As we mentioned earlier, the devices owned by identified members of the group have been seized and sent for forensic analysis. Five of them have been questioned. We will keep you updated on the case as and when there is more progress. Till then, we suggest you not to speculate or mix things that are now categorised under the larger umbrella of "Boys Locker Room."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 11, 2020 04:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).