KOCHI: In a digital twist to the classic Pati Patni Aur Woh trope, a private bank employee was arrested on Saturday for allegedly spying on his lover’s husband using a phone app. Ambalappuzha native Ajith S, 32, was arrested based on a complaint filed by the victim, Elamakkara native Adwaith.According to the police, Ajith installed an app called TrackView with the help of Adwaith’s wife Resmi, which enabled them to monitor Adwaith and record his private affairs, including intimate moments. Ajith allegedly used the visuals to threaten Adwaith in a bid to extort money.The police also arraigned Resmi as the second accused as she was the one who allegedly installed the app on Adwaith’s phone, helping Ajith to track his movements.
“The victim came to know about the tapping when his wife started questioning his movements, which he did without her knowledge,” said the the Elamakkara police. “His wife knew all about the secret conversations he had with others. This made him suspect that someone was tracking him. With the help of some techies, he realised that his phone was being used to track him. Based on this, he filed a complaint and the inquiry helped us nab Ajith.”
According to the police, Adwaith and Resmi have some disputes, which may have forced her to bug his phone. However, the police are yet to get sufficient evidence that the prime accused tried to extort money from the victim. “We haven’t received any evidence to establish that the prime accused threatened the victim in a bid to extort money. We are yet to get a clear picture. The full picture will be available only after a detailed probe,” they added. Ajith has been booked under Section 66-E of the IT Act. He was presented at a local court on Saturday evening.
What is TrackView?
TrackView is a multi-platform app that turns smartphones, tablets and PCs into a connected tracking and mobile video surveillance & monitoring system with event detection, alert and cloud/route recording capabilities. TrackView has more features than your average security monitoring app. It has remote audio and video recording, event detection, route recording and location history, motion and sound detection, night-vision mode, remote control of front and rear cameras, real-time videos and updates and many other features.
First time in the state
Though the police have probed several phone tapping cases before, this is for the first time they have come across an incident in which an app was used to keep track of a person in real time. “Since the app was hidden, it was difficult for the phone user to find out,” said the police.