Hyderabad: The intervention of the Andhra Pradesh police in a case of data theft registered at Madhapur police station in Telangana state could land them in trouble.
The law clearly states that they should have taken permission from the local police before reaching out to anybody outside their jurisdiction and this they did not do when they landed up at the home of T. Lokeswar Reddy, the whistleblower in the IT Grids data theft case, said the Cyberabad police.
They also tried to find R. Bhaskar, an employee of IT Grids India Pvt Ltd, even though they knew he was being questioned as a witness by the Cyberabad police in connection with the case, said Cyberabad police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar.
A case has been registered against the police personnel who trespassed into the house of Mr Reddy in Hyderabad and threatened him.
Mr Reddy complained to the KPHB police that a group of people in civilian clothes, claiming to be AP police, arrived at his house on Sunday morning, and threatened him. The police have registered a case under Sections 447 and 506 of the IPC, though they have not named any official.
“It is not correct on the part of the AP police to go to the house of the complainant. They do not have a connection with the case, but still threatened and abused Lokeswar. If they resort to any such incident again in the commissionerate limits, cases will be slapped against them and the law will take its own course,” warned the Cyberabad police commissioner.
The commissioner was also critical of the AP police, who raced to Hyderabad to pick up Regonda Bhaskar, who has been registered as missing.
"A missing complaint was lodged at Pedakanani police station in Guntur district of AP at around 5.30 pm on March 2. Within three hours, a team of police was at Madhapur police station to take details of Bhaskar. This is a peculiar incident, where the case was registered by a sub-inspector, and an ACP and an inspector have come to Hyderabad within three hours to search for a missing man. We have told them that the person was being questioned by us as a witness, but despite that, they have done this drama," the Commissioner said.
The Commissioner denied any pressure from the AP government in the case. “But AP police are trying to interrupt the investigation. It is a clear case where the personal details of the public were collected, including Aadhaar numbers and political affiliation, which is being used to delete the voters’ details. They should stay away and let us investigate the case, as the company which is in possession of the data is located in our jurisdiction," the Commissioner said.
Notices have been issued to Amazon Web services for production of the database relating to the Seva Mitra application and other data in their possession belonging to IT Grids India Pvt Ltd, which has been accused of leaking the data. Letters are also being addressed to UIDAI and Election Commission to collect more details for the investigation.
"The teams have seized computer peripherals during the searches conducted at the company on March 2 and 3. For a detailed analysis of the incriminating material, it is being sent for forensic analysis as per the provisions of law," said the Commissioner.
