Data theft case: T'gana govt forms SIT; LOC issued against IT

The Telangana government Wednesday set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged data theft case involving an IT firm here even as a Look out Circular (LOC) has been issued against the owner of the company.

The nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted as it was necessary for the probe which required expertise in cyber crime and extended to several places other than Cyberabad Commissionerate limits, official sources said.

The team would undertake a thorough investigation in all aspects of the case in an expeditious, effective, professional and fair manner for bringing out all facts and circumstances leading to commission of crime, they said.

The SIT shall immediately take over the investigation of the case registered at Madhapur police station and all other related cases registered in Telangana, they added.

Police said an LOC was issued against Ashok, CEO of 'IT Grids India Pvt Ltd,' by the Ministry of Home Affairs on a request from Cyberabad Police, to prevent him from fleeing the country.

The IT firm has been accused of 'theft of data' of voters through "Seva Mitra" mobile app, used by the TDP in Andhra Pradesh.

Four teams have been formed to nab Ashok, after he "failed" to appear before the police despite being summoned as part of the investigation in the case.

The police had on March 2 registered a case against the company and conducted searches at its office here based on a complaint by a data analyst.

The complainant had alleged that the company misused personal information and sensitive data of voters in Andhra Pradesh through 'Seva Mitra' mobile app used by the ruling Telugu Desam Party.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the company got illegal access to various personal and sensitive data of individuals such as Aadhaar, electoral roll, government schemes and voters information related to various political parties, which can be misused for illegal purposes.

"LOC has been issued (against Ashok) and all airports have been alerted," Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar told PTI. A look out notice is sent to immigration authorities to ensure that any accused person is detained and handed over to the prosecuting agency.

The senior police official said they were awaiting a response from Amazon Web Services and Google Play Store with whom the database is said to have been stored.

He further said they were in the process of writing to the Andhra Pradesh governemnt, Unique Identification Authority of India, Election Commission and Registrar of Companies for more details in this regard.

Police had conducted searches at the IT firm's offices on March 2 and 3 and had seized CPUs, electronic gadgets, hard disks and other incriminating material besides mobile phones and written documents.