Plan to kidnap Adnan made on Orkut? | Killed by friends

DEEP PRODE: Police sources say the trio, whom Adnan had met through Orkut, had promised to introduce him to Angel.

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Keywords: Orkut, Murder

New Delhi: Adnan Patrawala the 16-year-old son, of a businessman, who was abducted on Saturday night, was found dead in Navi Mumbai on Monday.

Police investigations suggest that the plan to kidnap Adnan was hatched on Orkut, a social networking website.

While the police have arrested three of Adnan's friends - Sujith Nair (28), Ayush Bhat (19) and Himmesh Ambavat (18) – for murdering him, an Orkut profile under the name of Angel D in under police scanner.

Police sources say the trio, whom Adnan had met through Orkut, had promised to introduce him to Angel.

But the question is who is Angel? As the hundreds of messages on Adnan's scrapbook suggest, Angel's profile could well be fake.

What’s startling is that even as news of the murder came, someone was still operating Adnan’s profile. Names and messages from Angel's profile were deleted after the media flashed the news of the 16-year-old’s death.

In the meanwhile, someone has also been tampering with Adnan's Orkut profile. His picture, album, videos and all messages before August 20 have been deleted.

But Adnan case is not an isolated one. Cybercrime has been on the rise over the last couple of years.

According to statistics available with Delhi Police, a total of 17 cases related to hacking, obscenity, e-commerce fraud, Internet-related crimes were registered last year. This was against 12 cases registered in 2005, indicating a 42 per cent rise.

Of late there has been a demand for a ban on Orkut, citing use of the website for sex trade and other dubious activities. While critics of the networking site say it poses a clear danger, there is also an upside to it.

On May 14, 24-year-old Manish Thakur, a Naval officer based in Goa, shot his girlfriend in Andheri. Mumbai police say Thakur's profile on Orkut helped them zero in on him.

And now the same website that might have played a part in Adnan's death has now become a platform for paying condolence, with over hundred already offering their tributes to the 16-year-old.