Police Tighten Security For Ganesh Immersion

Hyderabad:As part of Ganesh immersion preparations, Hyderabad police commissioner C.V. Anand held a review meeting at Madhuranagar police station in the west zone on Monday and later inspected major pandals in Banjara Hills, Borabanda and Rahmatnagar.

The meeting was attended by senior officers from law and order, traffic, SHE Teams and local police. Anand directed officials to ensure foolproof security for the immersion processions. “Public safety must be given top priority and early idol immersion should be encouraged to avoid late-night inconveniences. Teams are in their boots against pickpocketing, chain snatching and eve-teasing. SHE Teams and volunteers are also keeping round-the-clock watch,” he said.

The commissioner advised organisers and volunteers to remain at pandals at night as a precaution. During his surprise inspections at pandals, he interacted with organisers, reviewed security measures and instructed them to take precautions against rain-related risks. He also appealed to devotees to cooperate with the police for peaceful celebrations.

The review was attended by DCP west zone S.M. Vijay Kumar, DCP SB Apoorva Rao, DCP (traffic) Rahul Hegde, additional DCP (task force) Iqbal Siddiqui and other senior officers from west zone police stations.

Customer care scams cost Rs 3.12 L

Hyderabad:Hyderabad cyber crime police cautioned citizens after registering two online fraud cases involving fake customer care scams and unauthorized wallet transactions, which led to a combined loss of about `2 lakh.

In the first case, a 69-year-old man from Azampura searched online for a Blinkit customer care number after receiving damaged items. Fraudsters posing as executives contacted him via WhatsApp, tricked his family into downloading a malicious APK file and accessed their devices. They withdrew `4,193 from his wife’s account and `98,001 from his daughter-in-law’s bank account, causing a total loss of `1,02,194.

In the second case, a 37-year-old Chandrayangutta resident lost `1,11,740 after fraudsters hacked his Amazon Pay wallet. He had added `1.12 lakh to purchase gold coins, which were cancelled and refunded to his wallet. Later, he discovered his registered mobile number and email ID had been changed and three unauthorised transactions were made from his balance.

Police advised citizens not to trust customer care numbers found on Google, not to download APK files received via WhatsApp or Telegram, and to enable two-factor authentication on wallets. They also urged people to monitor account activity closely and never share login credentials or OTPs.

3 held for assaulting cops

Hyderabad:Vanasthalipuram police arrested three persons, including a food stall worker, after they assaulted two on-duty police personnel at Chintalkunta early on Monday.

Blue Colts constable R. Lingam and home guard M. Yadayya were instructing the food stall around 2 am to close it as it was violating permitted timings. At that point, two customers, R. Rakesh and G. Prasad of Boduppal, got into an argument with the officers, which escalated into physical assault.

Police said the duo abused the staff in foul language and obstructed them from performing their duties. The food stall operator, Vanam Pavan, 19, was also taken into custody. All three were produced before the court and remanded. Officials warned that eateries operating beyond permitted hours would face strict legal action.