Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: Hours after confirming that some students might be involved in the hacking of the official website of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), a student of the city-based private engineering college went to the Khandagiri police station and accepted his involvement in the crime.

The student has been identified as Tarini Prasad Samantray.

Earlier in the day, Police Commissioner RP Sharma told media persons, “From preliminary investigation, it seems to be the handiwork of a group of students. We have shortlisted some internet protocol (IP) addresses to trace the suspects in the cyber crime. From these, we believe that some students, who wanted to practice ethical hacking, are involved in the act.”

“Since the hacking seems to have originated from Bhubaneswar, we are zeroing in on some city- based IP addresses to crack the case,” stated Sharma. He, however, did not rule out the possibility of bringing shortlisted IP addresses in other locations into the ambit of the probe.

Official sources said 300-odd IP addresses have been kept under the purview of the investigation.

On the motive behind the whole episode, the commissioner said no particular intention has been noticed after the site was hacked on January 15.

“Neither any abusive content nor obscene matter was posted after the site was hacked. So, we believe that there was no ill-intention behind the act,” Sharma stated.

Official sources said a case has been registered under Section 65 and 66 (C) of Information Technology Act following a written complaint by OUAT authorities on January 16. The website was reportedly hacked a day before and the hacker, identifying himself as ‘Don’, had posted obscene messages on it.

Meanwhile, OUAT Vice Chancellor Manoranjan Kar said, "If any staff or students of OUAT is involved in this hacking, action will be taken against the person as per rule and regulations of the university."

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