AP, Telangana Police spar over data theft by TDP

The ongoing data war between the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the opposition  Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP)  took a serious turn with the Telangana police confiscating hardware of a Madapur based firm based on a complaint by a YSRCP functionary.

The firm — IT-Grids India PVT Ltd —  is said to have created the “Seva Mitra” app used by the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh. Seva Mitra is an official TDP Application which connects the registered Cadre and Party in real time.

The petitioner T Lokeswar Reddy alleged that data of 3.5 crore voters has been unlawfully used by the IT-Grids firm to delete names of voters in favour of YSRCP. The Telangana police have arrested four staffers of the IT firm late on Saturday night. A missing case was also filed in Amaravati of Andhra Pradesh for four employees of the software firm.  TDP also filed a habeas corpus petition seeking their whereabouts.

The Telangana Police in the FIR filed against the IT firm said that the government’s data which has been given to Blue Frog Mobile Technologies Pvt Ltd, a Vizag based company, has been diverted to IT Grids which has used the data, thus violating Supreme Court orders. The FIR further stated that the IT firm using the illegally acquired data in differentiating those who will vote for TDP and who will not.

“From there, lakhs of names of voters who are against TDP have been deleted,” the complainant said.

The Andrah Pradesh police who have reached here on Sunday to counter the Telangana police was were stopped by the Telangana Police. The Andrah Pradesh police, who were arguing that Hyderabad is a common capital and they have a jurisdiction here, was also stopped by the Telangana police when they tried to reach the Kukatpally Fortune Field, the home of complainant Lokeswara Reddy. The Cyberabad Police commissioner Sajjanar held a review meeting following the tense situation prevailed after Andrah Pradesh police have entered the city.

"Kidnapping the employees, harassing their families and threatening them with dire consequences…aren’t the triumvirate of Modi-KCR jagan ashamed of using the executive powers for stealing” Nara Lokesh, the Andhra IT minister tweeted. He further said “They are trying to steal l the information of registered party members and Seva Mitras and trying to benefit YS Jagan.