Multiple challenges kept Telangana police on their toes in 2021

From road accident deaths to cyber crime, this year’s crime files are dotted with varied but nagging incidents

Successful in suppressing Left Wing Extremism (LWE), but struggling to strike in similar fashion in other areas of policing. That puts in perspective the performance of Telangana police this year, which is drawing to an end. By neutralising six Maoists in a joint operation with Chhattisgarh police on Monday, they proved their upper hand once again in the battle against LWE.

The success is not at same level when it comes to smuggling, sale and spread of ganja in the State, dance of death on roads and ever increasing cyber crimes. Instances of seizures of ganja in huge quantities in different parts of the State are staring at Telangana police.

Authorities were victorious in making the State free of ‘Gudumba’. While illicitly distilled liquor-manufacturing came down drastically, sale and smuggle of ganja witnessed a swift rise.

Use of the contraband and its availability had increased multi-fold across the State. In remote parts of the districts too, instances of teenagers sniffing ganja are being reported in large numbers. All of it being sold in the State is not cultivated here surely.

Investigations indicated organised gangs are collecting the contraband from interior parts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. It is said ganja is being cultivated in deep forest areas and the authorities are unable to penetrate into such locations to check them.

Fatal mishaps

Another cause of concern is the loss of lives in road accidents. During year-end reviews, heads of police units boast of reducing road accident deaths by presenting statistics. The data, however, clearly shows the so-called reduction is too marginal to be happy about. The fact remains that hundreds of lives are lost every month in road accidents on national, state highways as well as internal and interior roads.

Notwithstanding their often tom-tommed ‘friendly policing’, a Dalit woman died allegedly after she was subjected to third degree methods during interrogation of a theft case in June.

The custodial death of Mariamma in Addagudur police station of Rachakonda police commissionerate resulted in the eventual dismissal of three policemen from service. Questions remain over initiating criminal action against them.

Online fraud

With internet usage on the rise, naturally online offences are going up, and Telangana State is no exception. Yet, instances of individuals ending their lives due to ‘harassment’ and ‘humiliation’ by online loan app companies emerged as a fresh challenge to law-enforcing agencies.

Preliminary probes indicated some Chinese companies were luring people with the bait of online loans and fleecing them when the latter failed to return money.

Money collected from the country is reportedly being transferred to China through ‘hawala’ and other modes. This can be checked only with the coordination and cooperation of national investigating authorities.

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