Kochi: Lover held for spying on husband using app

Kochi: In a first such case in the state, the city police on Saturday arrested a man who spied on a 30-year-old abusing a home security app in a blackmail bid.

Police said the wife of the complainant, who allegedly conspired with Ambalapuzha native blackmailer, S. Ajith, 32, was named as the second accused.

She installed TrackView on her husband's phone allowing Ajith to track their private affairs including intimate moments.

TrackView connects smartphones, tablets and computers into a mobile security system enabling location tracking, audio-video monitoring, instant alert, and remote recording.

He later threatened the complainant using these clips and asked for money, which flopped as he alerted the police.

The victim said he used to send money to his wife from Qatar, where he was working as a motor-instructor, and she had withdrawn Rs 7 lakh.

But she refused to explain how she used up all the money and they fought over it. Eventually, she left home.

“At first, when she frequently questioned me about my travels, phone calls, the things I eat, I felt someone was following me," he told DC.

"She even traced my location. So I approached one of my friend who is a software expert, and he found a hidden app installed on my smartphone.”
She used to keep the phone in specific positions to capture visuals. Small lights were turned on in their room every night. When he asked about this, she somehow managed.

However, after approaching the cyber cell, they caught snooper on the same app and identified his face. Later, cops arrested him from Karuvatta in Alappuzha.

The cyber cell found 30 GB storage on the app. People need to pay for getting this much space. They found the payment went from the victim’s account.

The victim said he again threatened him at the police station to withdraw the complaint so that he would give the whole visuals, otherwise, he will publish it on the internet.

Meanwhile, the police questioned the victim at Elamakkara police station.
“We are yet to get a full picture of it and are looking into all aspects,” an officer said. Booked under Section 66-E of the IT Act, a court remanded Ajith in the evening.a