Ahmedabad: The cybercrime police have apprehended a police officer, namely Vinay Kathiria, posted at the office of Zone-5 Deputy Commissioner of Police. The officer allegedly provided call detail records (CDRs) to an unethical hacker named Amit Singh, whom Vinay had met at a cybersecurity seminar. Singh had already been arrested on September 7th following a complaint from a Pune-based businessman.

The hacker, a 29-year-old resident of Hebatpur named Amit Singh, operates a company called “Amigo-Ethical Hacking and Cyber Security” in Navrangpura. Initially approached by the businessman in a 2019 domestic violence case involving his wife, Singh promised a solution and received an payment of Rs 3 lakh. Subsequently, Singh obtained the CDRs of the businessman and his wife, conducted cyber surveillance, and used the acquired information to extort money from him. Singh reportedly demanded Rs 4.50 crore and also threatened to falsely implicate the businessman and his family members in a rape case.

Later, when Singh, accompanied by some bouncers, forcibly entered the businessman’s residence, demanding money and assaulting him, the businessman filed a complaint that included charges of extortion, assault, criminal intimidation, and other relevant offenses under the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and the Information Technology Act.

Investigations led police to, Vinay Kathiria, aged 27, who would provide Singh with CDRs of ordinary individuals upon request. It was revealed that Singh and Kathiria had established a connection during a cybersecurity seminar organized by the city police, where Singh had served as a guest speaker.

Kathiria has been charged with offenses such as a public servant disregarding legal directives, breach of trust by a public servant, forging a valuable security, forgery with intent to deceive, engaging in bribery, and aiding and abetting, in addition to sections related to the Telegraph Act. DeshGujarat