31-year-old posts inflammatory content on social media, held

AFTER THE FIR, POLICE TRACED THE IP ADDRESSES OF THE FAKE EMAIL IDS AND OBTAINED THE IDENTITY OF THE USER FROM THE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER

MUMBAI: A 31-year-old man was arrested on Monday by the Azad Maidan police for creating fake email-ids and social media accounts in two individuals’ names to post inflammatory content online.

The accused, Siddhesh Anil Khapre, a resident of Nahur, Bhandup (East), used fake accounts to write communally provocative comments on a newspaper’s online portal, under his neighbour’s name in order to exact revenge on the older man for fighting with him over petty issues.

According to the police, the editor of the online portal filed a complaint stating that a person by name of Narhar Sadhu Bodhare had been posting abusive, communally sensitive messages on the portal.

When the portal blocked his ID, the person created fake email accounts in the editor’s name and used them to post objectionable content about a particular community online.

After the police filed an FIR, they traced the IP addresses linked to the fake email-ids and obtained the name and address of the user (Khapre) from the internet service provider.

Police also obtained details of Bodhare, the person in whose name the other accounts were made, and discovered that he is a 71-year-old man living in the same housing society as Khapre.

Bodhare and Khapre were both detained on Monday and interrogated separately.

Bodhare revealed that someone in 2014 had created a fake social media account under his name and posted an advertisement online to sell his house.

Bodhare had learned that someone using his name had been ranting about communal tension.

He had informed the Kanjurmarg police and the cyber unit at the time but did not submit a complaint. During his interrogation by the Azan Maidan police, Khapre confessed to creating 140 fake accounts, in both Bodhare and the editor’s name.

“Khapre and Bodhare live in the same building since Khapre was a child. Bodhare would fight with Khapre over petty issues. In order to teach Bodhare a lesson, the accused created fake accounts in his name and posted objectionable content online,” said a police officer from Azad Maidan station.

Khapre was subsequently arrested under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.