Second accused in e-mail hacking case surrenders

P A Dasthaker, the second accused and District Homeo Medical Officer, surrendered before Crime Branch DYSP Radhakrishna Pilla yesterday as his anticipatory bail plea had been dismissed by Kerala High Court two times.

Later, he was produced before a local court which remanded him to 14 days judicial custody.

The charge against Dashtaker was that he issued a fake medical certificate to the first accused in the case S Biju Salim for proceeding on leave.

Salim, later suspended as sub-inspector in-charge of the cyber cell of police, had already been arrested on charges of leaking official documents and for preparing a fake letter in the name of state intelligence.

He is facing the charge of attempting to create divisions in society by triggering communal passion by leaking official documents from the state intelligence department.

A report in a prominent Malayalam daily in January claiming that the state intelligence had instructed police to hack the personal e-mail of select Muslim leaders had triggered a controversy in the state.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had denied the charges.