Mumbai: Charkop MLA forgets e-mail password, cops register FIR

While the police are often accused of ignoring and at times delaying probe in cases of cyber crimes registered by ordinary citizens they were quick on their feet in acting on an FIR filed by a Charkop MLA who had only forgotten his email passwordThe BJP MLA Yogesh Sagar had filed an FIR at the Kandivli police station in February when he couldnt access his Yahoo email account He was able to use it again just one and a half day later but it took him around six months to inform the police who were investigating the case about the sameThe MLA had lodged the FIR on February 17 He informed the Kandivli police he had received a phone call from an aide around 741 pm that day who asked him to check an email he the aide had sent on Sagars personal email ID An hour later Sagar tried to log into his personal Yahoo account but couldnt get access to itPrompt in filing FIRSagar said I tried again but the same message cropped up When I clicked the forgot password option the last two digits of the mobile number displayed werent from mine Hence I suspected it to be a case of hacking The police were prompt in registering an FIR under sections 43 A and 66 of the Information Technology ActCut to six months later on July 31 the MLA wrote to the senior inspector of Kandivli police station informing them that he was able to access his email account using the same password one and a half days later He requested the police not to investigate the matter furtherFollowing that the police moved a C summary report in the case two days ago before the 17th metropolitan magistrate court in Borivli A lawyer who practices at the Borivli court said The court clerk representing the Kandivli police station moved the C summary report to the magistrate and the court directed the complainant to be present for the next hearing The matter is likely to come up in the next few daysSenior inspector of Kandivli police station Nitin Pondkule said It is a regular practice in cases of C summary matters to expect the complainant to be present with all relevant papers before the court Pondkule however said he wasnt aware of the next court hearingMLAspeakSpeaking to midday about the incident Sagar said Im not tech savvy but Ive been using my email account for addressing the problems faced by people from my constituency Usually I check my email on my phone but that day when it did not open even after trying my password I complained to the police fearing that my email account might have been hacked and someone may misuse it for personal gainsAt the police station even the cops tried to log into the account but couldnt after which they lodged the FIR I dont know how the mail reopened with the same password almost two days later On being asked why he waited for five months to write to the police he said I dont know if my email had been hacked or if there was any technical problem from the service provider But a few months later when I was sure that my ID had not been misused which even the police were monitoring I submitted my letter on July 31 asking them to close their investigationSagar said he wasnt aware about being called to court Ive not received any court intimation If I get I will surely visit the court and stand before the magistrateBut what does Sagar feel about the fact that police often dont register complaints of ordinary citizens but they lodged an FIR in this case because it came from an MLAIt is a fact that police do not register complaints in genuine cases too All I can say is if people especially those from my constituency have any such problem they can contact me directly and Ill see to it that their complaints too are taken seriously by the policeCondemn such instancesDinesh Tiwarisenior criminal lawyerIn most cases that are otherwise trivial in nature the police are reluctant to file an FIR unless someone influential intervenes Moreover with each police station being directed to take cyber complaints they police seldom take any initiative to even go through the complaint and forget to lodge the FIR We have numerous cases where even after being told about receiving threat emails or being bullied online or being sent derogatory contents the police have done nothingMajeed Memonsenior criminal lawyerIn the present case it appears that an MLA was to be obliged to abuse the process of law Instances like these should be condemned if there is a motive behind taking cognisance of such cases If it is found at a later stage that the complaint was not taken up on the basis of merit but for certain extra legal consideration the police officer who has obliged the complainant should have to explain his roleMehul KatariaCharkop residentThis is misuse of power by the MLA who should have confirmed through ethical hackers if his account had really been hacked before registering the FIRAlso ReadMumbai Cops scratch heads over mysterious disappearance of Charkop residentCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a 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