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The murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique has unveiled a concerning trend in the criminal underworld: the utilization of social media platforms, specifically Snapchat, to facilitate criminal operations and evade detection. The Mumbai police, in their investigation, discovered photographs of Baba Siddique and his son Zeeshan on the Snapchat accounts of individuals accused in the case, prompting an in-depth exploration of how criminal gangs, notably the Bishnoi gang, exploit social media to plan, communicate, and conceal their activities.
Snapchat, known for its ephemeral nature, allows users to send disappearing photos and messages, known as 'Snaps,' which vanish after a short duration, typically upon viewing by the recipient. This feature has attracted a young user base, but it has also proven appealing to criminal groups aiming to minimize their digital footprint. The Bishnoi gang, according to a senior Mumbai police officer, leverages Snapchat's self-deleting messages and photos to create a sense of security amongst its members. This strategy offers a significant advantage over traditional messaging platforms, as even if law enforcement seizes a suspect's phone, recovering messages becomes a challenging task. In the Baba Siddique case, while a majority of the data had been deleted, the police were able to recover some saved images, which proved instrumental in their investigation, providing crucial leads that might have been missed otherwise.
Furthermore, the process of requesting data from platforms like Snapchat, headquartered in the US, can be time-consuming. This delay further enhances the app's allure for criminal gangs seeking to avoid detection. While Snapchat currently holds prominence for its disappearing messages, it is not the first platform that criminal gangs have adopted to circumvent authorities. Previously, apps like Telegram and Signal, renowned for their encryption and privacy features, were popular among criminal groups, enabling them to communicate securely without fear of interception. The Bishnoi gang has a history of using social media to claim responsibility for their crimes while simultaneously attempting to avoid detection. In the Baba Siddique case, a gang member named Shubham Lonkar posted a message on Facebook claiming responsibility for the murder but promptly deleted the post. However, a screenshot of the post was widely shared across various platforms, rendering it virtually impossible for the police to trace the original post's IP address.
The gang's strategy extends beyond Snapchat and Facebook, as they have been known to employ Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to mask their online activity and evade tracking by law enforcement. As criminal gangs become increasingly technologically adept, they continue to refine their methods to outmaneuver police efforts to trace their digital footprints. The use of social media platforms like Snapchat by criminal gangs presents a significant challenge to law enforcement. Disappearing messages, encrypted communication, and VPNs make tracking these gangs increasingly complex. While police are continually adapting to these emerging technologies, the battle between law enforcement and technologically savvy criminal organizations is far from over.
Source: Baba Siddique murder case: Criminals used Snapchat to evade police detection- Here’s why