Indian cyber crimes: some get VIP treatment
By Pulkit Sharma

Most Indians are resigned to the fact that registering complaints with the Police is a waste of time.  Sometimes, the police will actively discourage minor complaints because they want to avoid the paperwork and show low crime figures. A report showed that there was not a single conviction for cyber crime in Bangalore.

But if you are VIP, the Indian cyber police will give you the VIP treatment.  Recently, when Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar’s daughter Anushka’s computer was hacked, a personal complaint to the Home Minister ensured a speedy investigation and arrest.

Cyber law expert Na.Vijayashankar, also known as Naavi in Cyberspace, is one of the most respected names in the Indian tech world.  As Chairman of the Digital Society Foundation and as a Director of Cyber Law College, one of Naavi’s life mottos is “Let’s build a responsible Cyber society”.   Naavi’s views are highly regarded and he is regularly quoted by the leading Indian newspapers and tech magazines.

Computer giant Cognizant has revenues of $3.3 Billion last year.  Its revenue grew by a staggering 31 percent.

Cyber law expert Naavi has just blogged about how the Andhra Police even tried to arm twist tech major Cognizant

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Recently I came across an attempt by Andhra Police to get an employee of Cognizant Technologies working in US transferred to India so that action can be initiated against him for providing links to some new Telugu movie download through rss feeds. If the commercial interests of a film producer can be so zealously guarded by our law enforcement, I think that the creators of Kirtu.com should be considered more deserving to be extradited from US, to have their passports if issued from India, cancelled and to be punished for offences committed in India.
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Another example of Indian police giving VIP treatment to some tech companies was the shocking case of US-returned software specialist Raj Gopal Reddy who quit Bangalore-based tech company Mindlogicx.  There was a civil dispute between Mindlogicx and ex-employee Raj Gopal Reddy.  The company wanted their laptop back but Mr. Reddy would only hand it over if his dues were cleared.

Bangalore Mirror which broke the story on Feb 10, wrote about how Mindlogicx ‘financed’ a team of 3 Bangalore based policemen to fly to Hyderabad to arrest their ex employee

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When police arrest a person, it’s the right of that person to be told the reason for his arrest. In a blatant human rights violation, last Saturday, a three-man Bangalore police team flew to Hyderabad arrested Raj Gopal Reddy, a senior US-returned software consultant, and without giving him any reason for his arrest forcibly brought him to Bangalore. A petrified Reddy repeatedly pleaded with the cops, who were in mufti, to at least allow him to phone his family, but the cops wouldn’t relent.

Only after Reddy reached Bangalore by about 7 pm, and was hauled up before the inspector at Mahadevapura police station, did the cops tell him that he had been arrested based on a complaint by his former employer, Mindlogicx Infotech Limited, involving a stolen laptop and for divulging confidential information to the company’s rivals.

The cops at the station treated Reddy like a petty criminal. But soon recovering his wits, Reddy managed to convince the inspector that he was not really at fault. Meanwhile, Reddy’s family had contacted a senior police officer in Bangalore who in turn called up Mahadevapura police station. Realising that they had no sufficient evidence against him, Mahadevapura police released the much-harassed man a little before midnight, pending further inquiry.
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Bangalore Mirror which is following up the story, now reports that Mindlogicx has reneged on its promise to pay overdue moneys to their ex employee. Initially the tech company spoke to Bangalore Mirror but has now refused to explain why it is not clearing the dues of its ex employee.

How can justice be done if a tech company is paying for the travel of policemen?

Naturally, if one does not have ‘connections’ or money, justice is not swift in many parts of India.  If the Indian media picks up a case, the police move quickly to investigate and make arrests.