Contractual IT head booked for stealing designs from company

Mumbai: Hackova Digital Print Company, specializing in dress printing and designs, has lodged a case against its contractual Information Technology (IT) employee and a rival company for allegedly leaking its designs

Mumbai: Hackova Digital Print Company, specializing in dress printing and designs, has lodged a case against its contractual Information Technology (IT) employee and a rival company for allegedly leaking its designs. The IT department manager reportedly created an extra user ID to steal the designs, causing a loss of ₹3 crore to the company. The case was filed at the Saki Naka police station, as the company has units in Saki Naka and Bhiwandi.

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According to the Saki Naka police, a case was registered based on the complaint of Shyam Agarwal, 63, who works as an admin at Hackova Digital. The company learnt through its customers that its proprietary designs were available in the market with rivals, who were offering to print them on clothes at lower rates. Hackova Digital employs over 30 designers who research and create unique designs, ensuring their confidentiality.

“When a design is made, it is uploaded to the company’s server. Customers—cloth manufacturers—are shown the design on a blanket and can choose the ones they like. Hackova then requests the customers to send cloth to its manufacturing unit in Bhiwandi, where the selected designs are printed. The printed cloth is then returned to the customers,” said a police officer from the Saki Naka police station.

The designs are handled with high confidentiality due to the extensive efforts involved in their creation. However, when the company learned that its designs were being sold by competitors, an internal inquiry revealed that the IT contractor, Ashok Yadav, had created an extra login ID through which the designs were leaked. Yadav’s absence from meetings with company officials further raised suspicion.

It was found that the designs were allegedly sold to Raunak Nahar, owner of Chirag Fab. Nahar, however, claimed he purchased the designs from Nikhil Valla and provided evidence of the transactions.

“The company has reported a loss of approximately ₹3 crore due to the leak. We have registered a case under sections 34 (common intention), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act,” said a police officer.