Hyderabad: The Hyderabad cybercrime police have registered a case against a meat seller for impersonating the commissioner of police, Hyderabad, in a bid to illegally obtain information about an ongoing cybercrime investigation being handled by the Delhi police special cell.He was arrested on Friday and has been remanded to judicial custody. The incident came to light after a Delhi-based journalist, affiliated with a policing news portal, alerted the office of the Hyderabad police commissioner. The journalist reported that an individual claiming to be the CP had contacted her via WhatsApp, using a number previously assigned to the city’s top police official. The impersonator requested FIR documents pertaining to a 2024 cybercrime case under investigation by the Delhi police special cell, involving an accused named Junaid Pasha.Acting swiftly, the Hyderabad police IT cell launched a probe into the complaint. Their investigation revealed that Mohammed Abdul Javed Quadri, a meat shop owner from the Charminar area, had been using the number 9490616000—formerly the official number of the CP—since April 2023. Quadri had allegedly configured the number with an auto-reply directing people to the commissioner’s new contact details, thereby maintaining a facade of authenticity.According to police sources, Quadri exploited residual communications sent to the outdated number and used the opportunity to fish for confidential information, particularly regarding the investigation into the case involving his associate, Pasha. His actions included responding to messages meant for the commissioner and misrepresenting himself to journalists and possibly others.The impersonation came under scrutiny when the journalist, growing suspicious of the unusual request, verified the commissioner’s current contact details through official channels and reported the misuse via email to the CP’s office.Following this, the cybercrime police registered a suo motu case against Quadri under sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, as well as sections 319(2) (cheating by personation) and 204 (impersonating a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “We have taken this breach seriously,” said a senior cybercrime official. “We have contacted BSNL and have ensured that all phone numbers previously used by senior police officers have been deactivated if reassigned to private individuals,” he added. Hyderabad: The Hyderabad cybercrime police have registered a case against a meat seller for impersonating the commissioner of police, Hyderabad, in a bid to illegally obtain information about an ongoing cybercrime investigation being handled by the Delhi police special cell.He was arrested on Friday and has been remanded to judicial custody. The incident came to light after a Delhi-based journalist, affiliated with a policing news portal, alerted the office of the Hyderabad police commissioner. The journalist reported that an individual claiming to be the CP had contacted her via WhatsApp, using a number previously assigned to the city’s top police official. The impersonator requested FIR documents pertaining to a 2024 cybercrime case under investigation by the Delhi police special cell, involving an accused named Junaid Pasha.Acting swiftly, the Hyderabad police IT cell launched a probe into the complaint. Their investigation revealed that Mohammed Abdul Javed Quadri, a meat shop owner from the Charminar area, had been using the number 9490616000—formerly the official number of the CP—since April 2023. Quadri had allegedly configured the number with an auto-reply directing people to the commissioner’s new contact details, thereby maintaining a facade of authenticity.According to police sources, Quadri exploited residual communications sent to the outdated number and used the opportunity to fish for confidential information, particularly regarding the investigation into the case involving his associate, Pasha. His actions included responding to messages meant for the commissioner and misrepresenting himself to journalists and possibly others.The impersonation came under scrutiny when the journalist, growing suspicious of the unusual request, verified the commissioner’s current contact details through official channels and reported the misuse via email to the CP’s office.Following this, the cybercrime police registered a suo motu case against Quadri under sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, as well as sections 319(2) (cheating by personation) and 204 (impersonating a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “We have taken this breach seriously,” said a senior cybercrime official. “We have contacted BSNL and have ensured that all phone numbers previously used by senior police officers have been deactivated if reassigned to private individuals,” he added.
