MYSURU: In what reads like a film script, a youth who was sending lewd messages to a mobile number believing that it belongs to a girl, found himself in an embarrassing situation when he learnt about the original owner. Irked, he called the recipient, abused him and asked him to send back all the messages. When he failed to get any reply, he tracked down the person and assaulted him.
Police sources told Express that Naveen Kumar, the accused, has been sending lewd text messages and photos to the mobile of Dharnesh for the past eight months. Naveen, who is believed to be a moneylender, resides at Mandi Mohalla. Dharnesh, who resides at K R Mill Colony on Mysuru-Bengaluru Road. works at a lathe in Bannimantap. Strangely, as Dharnesh ignored the messages without replying, Naveen started sending abusive messages.
Investigators suspect it to be a case of mistaken identity, as they surmise that Dharnesh may have given his cellphone to a girl in the past who may have spoken to Naveen using the same phone. Once Dharnesh got a call from a number which later turned out to be that of Naveen only to ask about a girl. When Dharnesh replied in negative, Naveen, who was not ready to believe in that, was pestering him. There were times when Naveen called Dharnesh from public phone booths only to check whether it’s a girl or a boy using the phone.
By the time, Naveen could realise his mistake, he had sent hundreds of such text messages. Fearing further consequences, Naveen launched an effort to get back whatever he had sent at least in the form of a CD. Even then Dharnesh allegedly did not respond. It was then, he somehow traced the whereabouts of Dharnesh and kept an eye on him. On February 18, Dharnesh was riding his two-wheeler when he was allegedly waylaid by Naveen and 4-5 others at Yadavgiri.
Naveen, who hurled expletives again, snatched the helmet of Dharnesh and assaulted him, resulting in injuries on his forehead and hands. He also threatened to kill him if he did not heed to his demand, before fleeing from the spot. Acting on Dharnesh’s complaint, the police have booked a case against Naveen and his accomplices.