Hyderabad: Cops face criticism for checking Whatsapp chats during ‘drug’ checks

Hyderabad: The city police seem to have a leaf out of the Narcotic Control Bureau’s book as cops in the city were seen asking citizens to show their phones to check Whatsapp chats in order to ascertain if one is consuming or peddling drugs.
On Wednesday, Siasat published a video report showing the city police officials randomly frisking people in the Dhoolpet area and even asking them to show phones to read Whatsapp chats. Clips of the video soon went viral on social media, inviting severe criticism against the city police. People pointed out that checking a citizen’s smartphone is a violation of the right to privacy, which is part of our fundamental rights.
Over the past week, the Hyderabad police have gone all out to crack down on drug peddling and have been making several arrests. While one can understand the regular police patrolling to keep a check on crimes, but cops asking people to show their phones and going through their Whatsapp chats is clearly an invasion of one’s privacy.
Srinivas Kodali, an independent researcher on data and privacy, said that the Hyderabad police is violating the fundamental rights of citizens without cause. “These searches are unconstitutional and the police seem to be doing these experiments with impunity in Hyderabad,” he told Siasat.com.
When contacted, a senior police official told Siasat.com that no such orders have been given to officials to check Whatsapp chats. The official also denied that the same was being done. However, the deputy commissioner of police of the south zone, Gajarao Bhupal was quoted by The News Minute as saying that he is aware of phones being checked. “However, we are not forcing anybody nor are we snatching away their phones to check. People are cooperating and no one is complaining, so I don’t think there is anything illegal.” It may be noted that in 2017, the Supreme Court of India had ruled that the right to privacy is protected under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In such a case, few lawyers, who spoke to Siasat.com on condition of anonymity, stated that the police has no business asking to check or read someone’s Whatsapp chats without any cause.