Hyderabad: The city police apparently have a leaflet from the Narcotics Control Bureau’s book, as police officers were seen in the city asking citizens to show their phones to check Whatsapp chat to determine if one is consuming or hawking drugs.
Siasat published a video report on Wednesday showing the city police officers randomly searching people in the Dhoolpet area and even asking them to show phones to read Whatsapp chats. Clips of the video soon went viral on social media, provoking serious criticism from the city police. People have pointed out that checking a citizen’s smartphone is a violation of the right to privacy, which is part of our fundamental rights.
In the past week, Hyderabad police have gone to great lengths to combat drug trafficking and have made several arrests. While one can understand the regular police patrolling to watch crimes, but police officers asking people to show their phones and go through their Whatsapp chats is clearly an invasion of one’s privacy.
Srinivas Kodali, an independent data and privacy researcher, said Hyderabad police were violating the fundamental rights of citizens for no reason. “These searches are not unconstitutional and the police appear to be conducting these experiments with impunity in Hyderabad,” he said. Siasat.com.
When questioned, a senior police officer said Siasat.com that no such orders have been given to officials to check Whatsapp chats. The official also denied that the same was being done. However, the Deputy Southern Commissioner of Police, Gajarao Bhupal, was quoted as saying by The News Minute like saying he’s aware of phones being checked. “However, we do not force anyone, nor do we snatch their phones away to check. “People work together and nobody complains, so I do not think there is anything illegal.”
It may be noted that the Supreme Court of India ruled in 2017 that the right to privacy protected under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In such a case, few lawyers, who spoke to Siasat.com on condition of anonymity, stated that the police have no case to ask to check or read someone’s Whatsapp chats for no reason.
“Unless and until they have valid authorization, they can not take anyone’s personal belongings or phones. People can ask on what authority they are asking for something. “They can do a normal search, but checking personal conversations is snooping in broad daylight,” said a Telangana High Court lawyer.
Even the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) questioned the Hyderabad police because they checked phones and Whatsapp chats.
The IFF described the police action as “illegal” and said it was “equivalent to a general warrant.”
Crack down drugs
Kamatipura police station and task force officials on Thursday arrested three people found in possession of Nitravet and Alpracard tablets. A press release from the police said that the accused Syed Masood, Syed Mohammed and Arun K, sold the tablets to “drug addicted customers” and to “needy customers” without any prescription. All three manage medical wards.
Hyderabad police on Wednesday arrested two people found in possession of 26 kilograms of ganja. On October 25, police in a special drive registered 13 FIRs and arrested 21 people in drug-related cases. This special drive by police is mostly linked to Telangana’s Prime Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s message to the department on combating drug trafficking in the state. At a meeting on October 21, he declared an “all-out war” against drugs.
Source: The Siasat Daily