cyber cafe owner held for threat mail

Mail sent to Pune police commissionerate threatened disruptive activities during Ganesh Puja, says cyber crime cell

The cyber crime cell of the Pune police investigating a threat mail sent to the police commissionerate’s mail ID from an internet cafe in Rajgurunagar on Wednesday arrested the cafe owner and his partner. The mail threatened of disruptive activities during the Ganpati festival. Police are trying to trace the person who sent the email.

A cyber crime cell team arrested Vishal Hiraman Bhogade (25) of Kharpudi village in Khed taluka and his partner Sandesh Sopan Dhere (22), who run the cafe from where the threat email was sent on August 25.

Police said they were arrested for not verifying the credentials of the customer who sent the threat mail and for not keeping any record of customers. There was no CCTV installed in the cafe.

The investigation was conducted by a team led by DCP Sanjay Shinde comprising inspectors Sangita Shinde-Alphonso and Sanjay Tungar. Investigations revealed that the two operators had installed an anti-forensic software that deletes all data and login information after a user logs out. Flouting rules, no CCTV cameras were installed in the cafe, police said.

Speaking to Indian Express, Shinde-Alphonso said, “We found that the mail ID was created just to send the threat email. No other email has been sent from or received on that id. The mail had just one sentence.”

After the mail was received, an FIR was lodged at Bundgarden police under sections 506, 507 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 43, 66 and 66 (A) of the Information Technology Act. The case was later transferred to the cyber crime cell.

Finding the time the email was sent and the constomers present at the cafe the cybercrime cell questioned around 10 for suspected involvement. The person who sent the mail will be held soon, police said. Bhogade and Dhere will be produced in court on Thursday.Source-Indianexpress