01 April,2014 09:03 AM IST | | Shailesh Bhatia
When ex vice-chairman of the State Minorities Commission, received an anonymous email that slandered his reputation from a USA-based server, he had little inkling that the hate mail would have originated from a community member in his neighbourhood
The email was sent three years ago, and a detailed investigation by the Cyber Cell of Mumbai Police pointed the finger at his community member Joseph Dias, who lives close to Mathias' residence in Santacruz (East) and is the general secretary of the Catholic Secular Forum (CSF).
Hard disks found
The Cyber Cell report (available with mid-day) indicates that officials had recovered two hard disks from Dias' home and office. These were sent to the Forensic Science lab for inspection, which subsequently concluded that the hate mail was drafted and transmitted from it, using an anonymous email ID.
Ironically, on the same evening that news of the hate mail spread, Mathias received a sympathy mail from Dias, advising forces to restraint from breaking the peace of the community. "The mail went to the extent of praising my work and dedication to protect the interest of our community," said Mathias.
"It was so shocking to find a mail which accused me of such heinous crimes like molesting women in my office and swindling funds, that I immediately approached the police to probe the matter. The results underline the sinister plan by those who claimed to be close to me, and are supposedly working to keep up the interest of our community."
