BENGALURU: Ramanagara CEN police arrested three people for hacking the government e-Swathu software and tampering with documents.
The accused Sharath (30), is a former contract employee of Narasandra Gram Panchayat in Magadi taluk, and the mastermind behind the hacking, along with his associates Nadeem (38) and Deepak (27).
Sharath, who had previously worked at the Gram Panchayat office, was aware of the loopholes in the e-Swathu software. Nadeem and Deepak, who were involved in computer repairs at the Panchayat office, hacked the software. They altered the records of properties under gram panchayats in Ramanagara, Bengaluru, Hassan and Tumakuru districts, collecting money from the public in return for illegal services in the software.
Sharath handled the document editing, while Nadeem and Deepak brought the clients. Aware that tampering with major land or ownership records could alert officials, the trio focused on making minor edits to documents and data. The gang illegally modified around 500 records such as ineligible ownership entries, account transfers, map changes, chakbandi (land consolidation) registers, and property transfers.
They particularly altered documents required for obtaining bank loans, and used this to get money from the public. The hacking came to light after an individual, who had paid Sharath to tamper with the records, later approached the Gram Panchayat for official rectification. Upon checking, the Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) found the irregularities and filed a complaint with the CEN police.
Ramanagara SP Srinivas Gowda said, “There are others involved in the racket, and further investigation is under way.”