KOLLAM: Truth can be stranger than fiction. None knows it better than Sajitha of Kottarakara. How else can she explain electric fans switching on on their own and her television set exploding, after she gets WhatsApp messages predicting the same?
Now, the 32-year-old, who lives with her parents and child, is spending each day in constant fear as she believes that every activity in her house is being externally controlled.
Sajitha told TNIE that she has been getting scary messages on WhatsApp — about everything happening in her house — from her mother Vilasini’s phone for the past six months. She believes her mother’s phone, as well as her own, have been hacked.
“I contacted the cyber police, but no case was filed,” she said. On Tuesday, the police installed some security features on her phone. The scary messages have now stopped. However, Sajitha said she’s still afraid.
“We have been living in constant fear. Our phones have been hacked. Electric equipment in our house are being externally controlled. Until Tuesday, I was getting intimidating and scary WhatsApp messages from my mother’s phone. One such message said my television would soon explode. And it happened. I have been going through such disturbing experiences for the past six months,” she said. According to Sajitha, the strange events began almost six months ago when she bought a new phone.
Soon after, the phone started malfunctioning. It would switch off and on by itself. Details on the device would change automatically. “My call list would change. Abusive messages would be sent from my phone to relatives and close friends. Initially, I thought my phone had some issues,” she said. Sajitha then switched phones. “However, the issues continued,” she said. She approached the police and the cybercrime unit. However, no proper action was allegedly taken. The flow of abusive and intimidating messages continued. The family got frightened when electronic equipment in the house started getting controlled externally.
“I decided to use my mother’s phone and put my SIM card in it. After that, I started getting strange WhatsApp messages from my her phone. I would receive a message that my fan is going to stop, my TV will explode, and the electrical meter will explode. Soon, these things would happen. My father, Rajan, is an electrician. He examined our appliances, but found nothing wrong.
We changed the wiring. But the scary incidents did not stop,” Sajitha said. On November 8, she approached the police cyber wing at Kottarakkara. However, the officials refused to register a case. Later, she approached the Kollam rural SP and Kodikunnil Suresh, MP. On Tuesday, the cyber police inspected the entire house. However, the officials could not find anything suspicious. “I believe there’s something wrong when I am inside the house.
I do not get these messages when I am outside,” she added. Investigation officer Elias P George said the phones of Sajitha and her mother were checked, but the police did not find anything suspicious.“We’ve received a complaint. As of now, there’s no evidence,” he said.