All eyes are on R.K. Nagar Assembly constituency in North Chennai where Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will contest the by-election on June 27.
Not many crimes have been reported from the constituency after the by-poll was notified, though it is a crime-prone area notorious for chain-snatching incidents and drunken brawls.
Gang wars concluding in brutal killings in full public view have unfolded time and again in the area. The Anti-Gangster Squad of the Central Crime Branch carried out extensive operations a few years ago to flush out criminals who were part of organised gangs.
The constituency has now made a sudden switch to a model one, with very little crime and better civic amenities such as roads.
With two officers in the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police manning the R.K. Nagar constituency, the area appears to be free from criminal activity.
The disadvantages of having communication applications like Whatsapp or Hike on one’s smartphone could at times outweigh the advantages. Unusual messages received from unknown numbers create panic in the minds of the users. Consumer activists and smartphone users are worried about the validity of ‘security alerts’ they receive. T. Sadagopan, president, Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Centre, said that of late communication applications like Whatsapp were becoming a nuisance because of the flood of information.
Some of them had got awareness messages asking them not to call back certain numbers. Some messages also warned of possible hacking into phones.
Mr. Sadagopan also cited a message about ‘traffic accidents’ happening in various junctions in the city creating panic among the citizens. He wanted to know whether the police department was aware of such messages and if any action would be taken to prevent such ‘alerts’.
A senior official of the Cyber Wing of the Chennai City Police stated that the department had never issued security alerts on Whatsapp or other apps. The department has been receiving complaints from the public of such “nuisance messages” and has been taking actions against groups promoting panic, he said.
(Reporting by Petlee Peter and R. Srikanth)
