Telangana Sptlight | Technically sound and fit for duty Premium

Telangana police tackle cybercrime threats, enhance investigative skills, and focus on health and fitness for officers.

A routine Thursday evening in late September took a terrifying turn for 45-year-old railway contractor G. Suresh when he received a WhatsApp message demanding ₹5 crore and threatening his family’s safety. His initial assumption of the message being a prank was shattered as it included the addresses of three of his relatives. With cybercrime on the rise, he knew the threats were serious. Suresh, a resident of Tarnaka in Hyderabad, was left with no choice but to rush to the Osmania University (OU) police station.

“They threatened to kill my brother if I failed to respond within 12 hours over ‘WhatsApp only’,” shares Suresh.

The police immediately swung into action. “As soon as we received the complaint, we wrote to the WhatsApp headquarters, requesting them to share details of the sender and extract all the messages exchanged. Meanwhile, Call Data Records (CDRs) were analysed through which the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number was identified, which helped nab the accused,” explains K. Swetha, the newly recruited Sub-Inspector (SI) at the OU police station.

Within nine days, police arrested four members of a gang, including mastermind Prasad Salonka, 36, an interior designer who had worked for Suresh between 2010 and 2012, gaining insights into his wealth and vulnerabilities.

Just days into her new role, Swetha played a key part in the investigation. Her team led the effort in gathering scientific evidence and tracking the cyber criminals. “We had been trained to work in close coordination with the headquarters of social media platforms. My first response was to write to WhatsApp and analyse the CDR for location coordinates,” she says.

This is one of many advanced investigations handled by the Telangana police, who are modernising their operations alongside focusing on fitness and health of the force. One such initiative is the ‘Duty Meet’, a first-of-its-kind, ongoing four-day event organised by the Crime Investigation Department of Telangana Police to test and hone investigative skills like forensic science, anti-sabotage checks, criminal law updates etc. through various written and practical tests and competitions.

On the cloudy morning of October 16, as many as 403 police officials, from constable to inspector ranks, gathered in 13 contingents at the Raja Bahadur Venkata Rama Reddy Telangana State Police Academy for the meet. After the inaugural parade, the khaki-clad officers swiftly moved to their designated test arenas.