The Hindu : Front Page : IT professional relives his ordeal

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Monday, Jun 30, 2008
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IT professional relives his ordeal

B.S. Ramesh

BANGALORE: He was one among the thousands of youth in Bangalore engaged in the software sector.

His life revolved around his work at an IT major, and his interest in cricket.

But Lakshman Kailash’s small world came crashing down when policemen from Pune came knocking on his doors and arrested him for a crime he never committed. Lakshman was taken to Pune, where he spent seven days in lock-up and 43 days in Yerwada jail. A private mobile phone operator had given his IP address to Pune police following a complaint regarding a derogatory blog on Maratha king Chhatrapathi Shivaji, on Orkut.

The real offenders have now been caught, and Mr. Kailash has been released from prison. His employersstood by him through his ordeal. During a chat with The Hindu on the High Court premises on Saturday, Mr. Kailash relived his “dark” days in jail.

He had come there to consult his lawyer for initiating action against the mobile phone operator. Mr. Kailash said that on August 30 last, he had gone to sleep after watching a cricket match, in which India was playing, till 3 a.m. Five hours later, he was woken up by eight policemen from Pune, at his residence on Airport Road.

Even before Mr. Kailash could gather his wits and ask them what wrong he had done, the police began firing questions at him and “searched” his computer.

Unable to comprehend what the police were talking about, he contacted his brother who stayed near Hebbal. But the police refused to believe that he is innocent. They took him to the airport police station, and then to Pune by road.

Mr. Kailash said that he had reached Pune on September 1, and had to spend seven days in “filthy” lock-ups at two police stations there.

The bail application he filed on the eighth day of his stay there was rejected by a local magistrate, and he was sent to Yerwada jail.

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