A woman found roaming in the corridors of Mantralaya sparked security concerns in the early hours of Wednesday. The situation was further worsened when a text message was circulated on social media on Thursday night connecting the incident to the recent data leak at the Secretariat.
According to the police, the woman, who is not a Mumbai resident, had come to Mantralaya on Tuesday afternoon to meet some ministers to submit a complaint. As it had been raining heavily since Monday, the woman could not leave after her work and sought refuge in the corridor on the ground floor.
“The woman dozed off while waiting for the rain to abate. As she was sitting in a corner, she went unnoticed while Mantralaya closed for the day. By the time she woke up, it was past midnight, and she was looking for a way out when she was spotted by security personnel,” an officer with the Marine Drive police said.
The woman was brought to the police station for questioning. The police checked her identity papers like PAN and Aadhaar, and verified her Mantralaya entry pass with security officers.
“All inquiries were made before the woman was let off on Wednesday. Nothing suspicious was found,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Sangramsinh Nishandar said.
Meanwhile, a message started doing the rounds on WhatsApp on Thursday night about a woman being caught while trying to steal data from Mantralaya. Last month, a contractual employee with the IT department of the Secretariat was sacked for allegedly trying to access information without authorisation. Late on Thursday night, police officers sent out a message, dismissing the earlier message as a rumour.
