With a rising number of complaints coming in from gullible public about being cheated by tricksters while handling online transactions, Director General of Police Sylendra Babu has appealed to the internet users to beware of the fraudsters.
Speaking to media persons here on Saturday, he said that in many districts, the Cyber Crime Wing police had registered cases of cheating by anonymous callers, who sent SMS (short message service) and other forms with the sole intention of deceiving the gullible users.
Appreciating the police officers handling such white collar crimes for swiftly solving them in Dindigul and Theni districts, he said that the police had arrested the accused and also recovered the money siphoned off from the complainants bank accounts.
Cautioning the public, he urged the media also to help in creating awareness and educating the masses as the cyber crimes and criminals remained anonymous and faceless. The earlier the complaint, the case could be detected faster. Sensitisation was essential and the police officers also reached out to the people, Mr. Sylendra Babu said.
The DGP said that police teams from Dindigul and Theni districts had gone to as far as New Delhi, Maharashtra, Odisha and other States to arrest the criminals. A few Nigerian nationals were also booked for online frauds by the teams here, he replied to a query.
Pointing out a specific case, he said that the police team had gone to Gujarat and arrested the accused and frozen bank accounts which had Rs 11 crore fraudulently received from gullible people. There were many type of cheating online which included promising jobs, doubling money and lottery wins.
Action against ganja menace
The DGP said that ganja, which was once freely available and grown in Western Ghats, had become a thing of the past. The enforcement had been tightened and with the movement of the narcotics being sealed, the users were looking for alternatives.
“We are closely watching medical stores with the aid of Health department...” he added.
When asked, he said, “I wouldn’t say ganja has been eradicated totally... But 80 % of movement has been curtailed due to heightened vigil. The ganja sellers are on the run in Tamil Nadu,” he said in a confident tone.
The ganja sellers were dealt with an iron hand and not only the narcotics was seized, but even the bank accounts and the properties were also attached under the NDPS Act. In Theni district alone, 233 cases were booked, 498 people arrested and 54 among them were detained under Goondas Act in 2022 and 2023.
He had a special word of appreciation for the police personnel who were instrumental in stopping 328 child marriages in Dindigul district. Action was taken after calls received on 181 and 1098 toll-free numbers, Mr. Sylendra Babu said. The district had also enforced POCSO Act accused that punishments ranging from 5 to 25 years were being awarded by the courts.
Inspector General of Police (south zone) Asra Garg, DIG of Police (Dindigul Range) Abhinav Kumar, SPs V Baskaran and Dongre Pravin Umesh and other officers attended the meeting.
Earlier, the DGP returned recovered articles valued at ₹1.50 crore to the owners on the occasion.
