Photograph used for representational purposes only
The Cybercrime Wing of the Chennai police has detained a suspect, after registering an FIR on a complaint given by the School Education Department, which alleged that personal details of school students were sold by an individual for a price, to third parties.
On Sunday, the District Education Officer (DEO), R. Punniyakotti, lodged a complaint with the Chennai City Police Commissioner, following news reports in this regard. The complainant alleged that the School Education Department has reason to believe that an individual was selling information of school students of both government and private schools, including their personal details such as names and contact numbers, to third parties for a price.
The complainant alleged that this individual has been reportedly sharing the contact details of students from 20 districts, upon receiving payment through online transactions. This illegal sale of personal data not only violated the privacy of students, but also put their safety and security at risk, the complainant said.
A case under sections 420 of the IPC & 43 (j) r/w 66 of the IT (Amendment) Act of 2008 was registered on Monday and the suspect was detained by the cybercrime police on Tuesday. The suspect reportedly told the police that he had sourced the information of school students through open sources only, said sources.