Lakshmana Kailash was arrested by the Pune police cyber crime cell on August 31, 2006, and wrongly accused of posting insulting images of Chhatrapati Shivaji on Orkut.
Lakshmana Kailash, a Bangalore-based software engineer, was arrested by the Pune police cyber crime cell on August 31, 2006, and wrongly accused of posting insulting images of Chhatrapati Shivaji on Orkut. The 26-year-old was brought to Pune and put behind bars for 50 days. It was later found that he was innocent. Kailash recounts his horrific experience
I wish no innocent victim goes through an ordeal like mine. My case will be an eye opener for all those who were wronged. I was terror stricken when I saw eight policemen knocking on my door on the morning of August 31, last year.
They did not tell me why they had come to arrest me and what my offence was. They did not let me speak to my family members. They took me all the way to Pune away from my home in Tirunalveli and the place where I worked, Bangalore.
After a week in police custody, I was told that an IP address was traced to my computer that had posted offensive pictures of Chhatrapati Shivaji on Orkut.
My protests fell on deaf ears. I was brave till that moment when they made me hold a slate with my father’s and my name written on it. I was posing like an accused! I could not bear to see my father’s name being dragged into it. I hated the humiliation meted out to my father, a man who lived his life with head held high. In one moment my life shattered all around me. I lost all my self-respect, social status and confidence.
But the worst was yet to come at Yerawada jail in Pune. I was housed along with undertrials and hardened criminals. Back in the cushy environment of my home and workplace, I could never have imagined such inhuman living conditions.
I had to use one bowl to drink water, shave and carry it to the toilet. Over 400 inmates shared a few toilets. If one spent too much time inside the toilet, the other inmates used to constantly bang on the door. I was so badly affected that I am on medical leave even though months have passed since that incident. Those 50 days were horrendous because of which my brother, who could not speak any language other than Tamil, suffered as he could not communicate. All he could do was run from pillar to post.
I was released after Bharti Airtel told the police that the IP address they traced was wrong. Airtel offered me a job, which I turned down. I want a monetary compensation of Rs20 crore. Neither the police nor the Airtel are apologetic about what they did to me. I spoke to them initially thinking the matter could be solved amicably by talking. When that failed I decided to fight my own battle.
Now I want to show the world the flaws of cyber law. Through my case I want to tell the authorities they cannot afford to be casual and incompetent and arrest an innocent person. I want to make people aware of the risks and threats of internet. First, I will get out of this mess and plan for the future so that innocent people like me do not go through the ordeal that I went through.
(As told to Bhargavi Kerur)
k_bhargavi@dnaindia.net
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