03 February,2017 02:10 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
Two private detectives have been arrested for allegedly snooped on call detail records (CDRs) of people and selling them to clients. The detectives have been identified as Laxman Thakur (30) and Kirtesh Kumar Kavi (44)
Two private detectives have been arrested for allegedly snooped on call detail records (CDRs) of people and selling them to clients. The detectives have been identified as Laxman Thakur (30) and Kirtesh Kumar Kavi (44). The detectives were held by the Mumbai Police crime branch.
According to a report in the Indian Express, the duo charged around Rs 20,000 for their services. The report added that more people could be nabbed since a crime branch team is in Delhi. They are on the look out for a man they suspect is also part of the snooping racket.
A police officer involved with the probe informed the paper that the investigation began after they came across advertisements on the net, which promised to provide CDRs of any number in exchange for money. A cop then posed as a businessman and visited Thakur, who then put him in touch with Kavi. The policeman asked the detectives for CDRs of last three months of his business partner.
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"The duo told him he would have to shell out Rs 60,000. On payment of an initial sum, the officer was provided with the CDRs. At this point, we arrested him," a senior crime branch officer, requesting anonymity, was quoted as saying by the paper.
The detectives were interrogated on how they obtained the details. "One way could be, a police officer who has access to CDRs may have parted with it for money. The other way could be zonal officials of mobile phone operators could be complicit," an officer informed.
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"This is a serious issue and CDRs in the wrong hands can have serious security ramifications. Only the government and intelligence agencies are allowed to procure CDRs for investigation. The duo seemed to have high-profile clients and we are verifying how many cases of invasion of privacy took place," another said.
The report added that the accused have been booked for cheating, invasion of privacy and relevant sections of the Indian Telegraph Act, the report concluded.
