Mumbai: Potty-mouthed signboard makes Powaikars blush

The obscene comment on the digital advertising board outside Powai Plaza on Friday

Some passersby frowned, many felt embarrassed and a few burst into a peel of laughter, courtesy a digital advertising board outside the Powai Plaza. The innocuous display unit installed by a healthcare product shop triggered myriad emotions on Friday after "someone hacked" its WiFi and ran an offensive line in Marathi - Baghtoy Kaay……L'''ya… - on it. The Powai police are now trying to identify the person behind the mischief. » P05

The digital advertising board has been put up at the Powai shopping complex by Holistic Acupuncture Center to promote its products. After the obscene comment popped up on the board, the locals posted its pictures on social media urging the police to stop the show of vulgarity. The Powai police reached the spot and got the distasteful line removed.

Also read: Mumbai: Food delivery person sodomises dog in Powai, held

Powai Plaza where the digital screen has been installed

The healthcare centre staff suspect someone cracked the password of his WiFi and got control of the advertising board. They are also taking the help of a computer engineer to track down the hacker's device.

Gargi Ghanekar, a school teacher, was among those who saw the filthy message on the digital board. "It was such an embarrassing word. This is very bad for society as a whole as today's India is digital and such things flash so easily. It will definitely cause disruption in the lives of simple Mumbaikars. This can also give rise to cyber terrorism."

Gargi Ghanekar

Manisha Thakur, who visited the mall, said, "Digital display boards are installed to catch maximum eyeballs. The crooks have deliberately attempted to deface the image of a shopkeeper. We expect that the shopkeeper will take extra precautions before their messages are displayed on a digital board."

Another visitor Sneha Bhardwaj had come with her friend's daughter. "She could not interpret the message and asked me what was written. It was so embarrassing because the little girl asked me in the presence of other visitors. The authorities concerned must take legal action against the culprit."

Officers from Powai police station said that passersby noticed the mischief around 10 am after the Powai Plaza opened and the digital boards were switched on. But one of the boards carried the message "Baghtoy kaay……L'''ya….", prompting passersby to take its pictures and videos. A police officer said such an act amounts to cybercrime.

Dr Kabbir Deshmukh, who runs Holistic Acupuncture Center, said, "We have five digital advertising boards which are placed outside the mall area only. One advertising board was hacked by someone in the morning. It was so embarrassing for us. The police also came to the mall to check the digital board and we gave a complaint to them. I immediately changed the password of the digital board and removed the vulgar advertisement from it."