Andhra Pradesh: TDP faces data theft charge for poll manipulation

Hyderabad, Mar 05: Telangana police have registered a case against a Hyderabad-based IT firm for allegedly "stealing" data of voters through the mobile application, which was used by the TDP in Andhra Pradesh.

Reacting to the development, Andhra Pradesh IT Minister N Lokesh said police was "harassing" companies that were hired to curate the information, whose complete rights were held by the party.

Based on a complaint from a data analyst, a case was registered against the firm on Saturday.

The complainant alleged that after logging into the official Facebook page of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), he found party cadre using certain mobile phone and tab-based software applications, especially ''Seva Mitra'' app, for "advancing party's electoral prospects".

Reacting to the searches conducted by the Telangana Police, Mr Lokesh said in a tweet, "They are trying hard to steal the information of registered party members and Seva Mitras. The Telangana Police is harassing the companies that have been hired to curate the information whose complete rights are held by the (TDP) party."

The Andhra Pradesh government utilised the services of the firm in implementation of government schemes, he said in the complaint.

He alleged that the firm was given access to enormous amount of official data with respect to the beneficiaries of various government schemes and private data of individuals, including their Aadhaar number.

"Following registration of a case, police conducted searches (Saturday). The searches are going on today also," Assistant Commissioner of Police N Shyam Prasad Rao told news agency PTI. He however denied any further details.

PTI