Changanassery: Five persons have been arrested so far for denigrating a woman home by propagating her mobile phone number with ulterior motives.
The arrested persons are Ratheesh,39, of Palathara Colony; Shaji, 46, of Haripad; Anikuttan, 29, of Nedumkunnam; Nishanth, 34, of Wadakancherry; and and Vipin, 34, of Thrissur.
Ernakulam range DIG Neeraj Kumar Gupta arrived at Changanassery on Sunday and coordinated the investigation. The evidence was collected from details available in the phone of the aggrieved woman.
The investigation team had summoned 13 persons from different districts for questioning on Sunday. The arrest of five persons has been recorded. The remaining persons were let off for the time after recording their statements.
The DIG said there was still no clarity whether the phone number was propagated because of any personal enmity. The investigation will continue.
Kottayam district police chief D Shilpa said only those persons against whom specific evidence was found have been arrested in the case so far.
More mobile numbers are being screened. More persons will be taken into custody if they are found guilty, she said.
"Several phone numbers gathered from Shaji were also traced as part of the probe. We are probing whether more numbers were spread or handed over to others by the accused," Deputy Superintendent of Police R Sreekumar, who is heading the special investigation team, said.
Though the woman had filed a complaint in connection with the phone calls, the police did not register a case initially. Subsequently she narrated her plight on social media.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took note of the matter following which the police intensified the probe.
