The AP and the Telangana police on Sunday had almost come to blows when the Guntur policemen tried to take a person into custody in Hyderabad. Later, the AP police left the spot.
The Guntur police left for Hyderabad in search of an IT Grid employee Regonda Bhaskar following a complaint lodged by the company management that he had been missing.
However, the Telangana police, who are investigating theft of important data of the beneficiaries of various AP government schemes by the company, had reportedly picked him up, it is said.
Thummala Lokeswara Reddy lodged a complaint with the Madhapur police alleging that the management of the M/s. IT Grids India Private Limited, engaged by the TDP, was using the data of AP Smart Pulse Survey, State Resident Data Hub, IVRS Surveys, conducted by the AP government in the mobile APP ‘Seva Mitra’, in violation of the Supreme Court orders.
The private company has branches at Mangalagiri, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad.
Cases booked
The Telangana police registered cases against the suspects under Sections 120 (B), 379, 185 IPC and Sec. 66 (8) and 72 of IT Act and took up investigation. They picked up a few suspects and were questioning them. They seized the hard discs and other equipment during raids.
The Guntur (Urban) police registered a ‘man missing’ case.
“Based on a complaint that Mr. Bhaskar who came to Nambur village had been missing since Saturday, we registered a case. We recorded the statements of the family members and are trying to trace him,” Guntur (Urban) SP Ch. Vijaya Rao said.
The Telangana police are investigating how the private company got the data, including Aadhaar, voter ID cards and other particulars collected by the government, of the beneficiaries.
They are also focussing whether the management possessed data of the citizens of any other State, the company’s network and its links with any banned organisation, an officer said.
“The data was leaked from Andhra Pradesh. We are investigating the case in all angles.”
The complainant met Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar and sought protection fearing threat to his family members from TDP activists and the AP Police.
HC’s direction
The Telangana High Court directed the police to produce the four missing employees of the private IT firm in the court on Monday.
The court was responding to the habeas corpus petition filed in the court that Gurudu Chandrashekar, Regonda Bhaskar, Rebbala Vikram Goud and Kaduluri Phani had been missing since Saturday.
The petitioner alleged that the Telangana police had detained them.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu consulted Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas on the development.