Beware bloggers. Never vent your fury on the internet, using abusive language. A Kandivili-based electronic and telecommunication engineer, hailing from north India, did just that, and Crime Branch came calling.
Rajat Trivedi (name changed), 27, spewed venom at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, saying people like him “should be killed”, in a four-page blog - ‘Truth about the Kurla bus encounter’. It also accused Mumbai police of gunning down Patna youth Rahul Raj in a fake encounter aboard a BEST double-decker.
Sleuths of the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell came across the blog on November 6. The internet protocol (IP) address of the user was traced to Thakur Complex in Kandivili (East). Later, sleuths paid Trivedi a visit at his home and recorded his statement.
“We monitor blogs and community websites to see whether anybody is misusing the internet. On November 6, we came across Trivedi’s blog. In it, he has expressed his hatred for Raj Thackeray, who, he says, should be killed. He has also blamed the police, saying that they have deliberately killed Rahul Raj,” said Rakesh Maria, joint commissioner of police (crime).
Asked whether Crime Branch was violating the freedom of speech and expression, guaranteed to people by the Constitution, by monitoring blogs and community websites, Maria said, “A person has the right to state his views on political issues. But, in this case, Trivedi is inciting people to resort to violence. He can’t do that.”
He added, “We have recorded his statement, and are checking whether any case could be made against him under the purview of law. We have also informed the Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert) in Delhi about such contents.”
Sources said that Trivedi is a bachelor, staying with his parents. He runs an online advertising business.
There have been instances of obscene contents being posted and written on internet, especially in community websites. There have been cases of people opening profiles in the name of famous Bollywood personalities, inviting girls to contact them for a break in movies. All these prompted the cops to go surfing in order to keep a tab on the
miscreants.
