Andhra CM YSR a nature lover!!! Peafowl to Edupalapaya

Who cares about Great Indian Bustard and Jerdon's Cursor?

By U Sudhakar Reddy
When the clouds gather over Idupulapaya, local people can now get to see peacocks dancing. After gifting a botanical garden, a deer park and an IIIT for Idupulapaya in his native district Kadapa, the Chief Minister, Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, has ordered the release of 67 peacocks and peahens there.
Wags say that there is no end for the patronage which the Chief Minister extends to Idupulapaya. His family has estates near the Edupulupaya Reserve Forest and the Chief Minister had given away hundreds of acres of land to the poor braving criticism from the opposition.
Dr Reddy now wants to relocate the peacocks and peahens grown using special breeding techniques at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad to Edupalapaya. Wildlife experts had wondered why the peafowl species was being bred carefully in the Nehru Zoo though their population is exploding in the natural habitat and other species required more attention. The answer is that forest officials had undertaken the task on the instruction of the Chief Minister who wanted to gift them to his native district.
Funds were sanctioned on war footing and zoo officials smiled as the peafowl population increased. They will be taken to Idupulupaya by June end or in the first week of July, in time for the rains. Forest officials say that the activities at Idupulupaya are evidence of Dr Reddy’s love for nature. According to them, the development of Idupulapaya could be the first step towards the formation of a connecting corridor between Nallamala and Seshachalam forests which will help in the free movement of animals.
However, the fact remains this "love of nature" is not extended to crucial projects related to endangered species. The vulture breeding project and the Jerdon Cursor and Great Indian Bustard projects could not take off so far. There are only 10 Great Indian Bustards in Rollapadu bird sanctuary and the species is facing extinction.
The Telugu Ganga canal project has also had a negative impact on the Jerdon Cursor bird. But forest officials would rather clap on as peacocks dance in Edupulupaya and peahens watch them in admiration.

Hate communities mushroom on Orkut against YSR, Naidu, Chiru and Balakrishna

Cyber Cops warn action

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Hyderabad, June 24: More than 60 hate communities have sprouted in social networking site Orkut against superstar Chiranjeevi after he announced his political entry. Hate communities against the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, the Telugu Desam chief, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Telangana Rastra Samiti president, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and film stars Balakrishna, Nagarjuna, and Mahesh Babu are also thriving in Orkut.
The Cyber Crimes Police Station has warned that it would take action against those who run hate communities and post vulgar pictures and abusive content on VIPs and celebrities. Internet surfers seem to be enthusiastically joining the hate communities. For instance, "We Hate Chiranjeevi" group has 2,289 members and "We hate YSR" has 1,754 members. There are around 11 communities in Orkut targeting YSR, six spewing venom on Mr Naidu and five on KCR. There are 21 communities which specialise in frothing against actor Balakrishna.The photographs of several film stars and leaders have been morphed and given an obscene look by these hate communities.
"If they post obscene comments and photographs, we can book cases and track down those who run the communities with the help of the service provider," said the Inspector Mr Ravi Kumar of the Cyber Crime Police Station. He added that cases had been registered against certain persons running hate communities after complaints from individuals. "But so far no political leader or celebrities have lodged complaints," he said.
Police add that lack of awareness on cyber crimes in the country is leading to such abuse. "But the fact remains that the number of fan clubs is more than the number of hate communities," said a senior advocate, Mr Srinivas Reddy. For instance, Chiru has at least 1,000 communities supporting him. They include "Chiru the next Chief Minister" and "Join Chiru Party". The biggest community has at least 18,000 members. Earlier Shiva Sena demanded the ban on social networking site Orkut after hate communities targeted its leader Bal Thackeray. "We can write to Google and get the Internet Protocol address of those who created the hate communities," said a senior cop.

Andhra to Gulf : Girls fall prey to Sex racket

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Police has busted a major racket trafficking young women from the state to Gulf countries including Dubai, Kuwait and Oman and forcing them into the sex trade.
Sleuths of the CID and West Godavari police arrested some local suspects and issued FIRs against the racket’s agents in Dubai and Kuwait. The women were trapped in the racket after being promised jobs as maid servants and baby-sitters in Gulf countries.
One of them, a 21-year-old woman of West Godavari district, was rescued and brought back to Hyderabad from Dubai with the help of Indian Embassy.
She said several others like her were languishing in brothels in Dubai. “I was raped several times by Arabs and was taken to 17 places where I was abused further,” she said.
An agent named A.
Gavaraiah Naidu of West Godavari faked her age and got her passport and visas to Muscat and Dubai. She also got the ‘Emigration Check Not Required’ clearance though she is less than 30 years of age and did not have the required educational qualification. Naidu has been arrested by Undrajavaram police for his involvement in the racket. “He promised the job of a maid servant at a salary of 700 dirhams per month and my husband paid him Rs 60,000,” she said.
The young woman alleged that Naidu raped her in Bengaluru. “Later I was taken to Muscat where an Arab sheikh sexually exploited me for 10 days,” she said. “He gave me a sari, a cell phone and Rs 10,000.
I sent the money to a bank in the city.” The girl was then taken to a brothel run by Jyothi, a relative of Naidu, in Dubai, from where she was shifted to her sister Venkata Lakshmi’s house.
“At least 20 to 25 persons used to exploit me in a day,” she said. “Jyothi took away my passport and mobile phone and also tortured me with burning cigarettes.” She used to talk to her husband on the mobile phones of some of the ‘clients’ who visited the brothel, including men from AP. Finally, she escaped and reached the Indian embassy that shifted her to a shelter where she stayed for 10 days before returning to the city.
Four other young women from Suryaraopalem of West Godavari district have also been trapped by Jyothi and efforts are on to bring them back home.
“The gang lures women with the promise of jobs,” said CID (anti-trafficking) inspector general, Mr S. Umapathi. “We are trying to trace some bar dancers who were forced into the trade.
We will be issuing more FIRs against the accused.” The inspector general of CID (anti-trafficking unit) addressed the media on the eve of rescuing women from Andhra Pradesh who had fallen prey to a sex racket in the Gulf. Mr Umapathi urged parents and husbands not to send the women to Gulf countries without checking the veracity of the agents.
The Protector of Emigrants of Hyderabad, Mr Ajit Chouhan, said that at least 31,000 persons were given ECNR clearance from his office last year.
“Individuals who go to Gulf countries as housemaids should be 30 years old and should have original or embassy attested visa, work agreement attested by embassy or work permit,” he said.
The inspector general added, “They should also have Pravasi Bharthi Bheema Yojana.” There are eight Protector of Emigrants (PoE) offices in the country. People from Andhra Pradesh should go to POEs at Chennai, Mumbai, Tiruvananthapuram and Delhi apart from Hyderabad for ECNR (Emigration Clearance Not Required).
The Kadapa Superintendent of Police, Mr. Mahesh Bhagawat, said that the three other young women from West Godavari district were also rescued.
He added that the racketeers also shot pornographic movies with the women from the state.
(Photo courtesyAAFAQ)

Pak printed fake currency to Andhra via Bangladesh

By U Sudhakar Reddy/Hyderabad

Fake Indian cur rency printed in Pakistan is reaching Hyderabad and coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh in a big way.
The shipments reach the city on air from Dubai , through sea from Pakistan via Gujarat , Mumbai and Kochi , and also make their way through the porous borders between India and Bangladesh .
Police sources say most of the fake currency racketeers are linked either to the ISI, the Dawood Ibrahim gang or Bangla based terror groups.
Police suspect that the money is being used for terror and underworld activities of jihadi groups and gangsters.
The fake currency coming to the state is of high quality and the Reserve Bank of India officials say it is very difficult to distinguish it from the genuine currency printed by the Indian Security press. After keen scrutiny, RBI officials detected slight variations in water mark and thread which are not visible to the naked eye.
It is suspected that fake currency notes of crores of rupees are in circulation in Andhra Pradesh. In the latest instance, counterfeit notes worth around Rs 10 lakh had been slyly introduced in the market.
In the last few years, police has been successful in busting several gangs dealing with fake currency, but this has not ended the flow.
One reason is that several key accused have escaped the police dragnet. Two key racketeers, Aftab Bhatki, a native of Mumbai and Babu Gaithan, a native of Barkas in the city, could not be nabbed. They are both in Dubai and the AP police has sought the help of the Interpol to catch them.
Since the kingpins could not be nabbed, investigation into many cases reached an impasse and the flow of counterfeit notes continued.
In the last eight years, sleuths have pursued 10 major fake currency rackets sponsored by ISI and DCompany and arrested 25 persons. They also recovered counterfeit currency worth about Rs 3 crore.
“The fake currency racket has international ramifica tions,” said the Commissioner of Police, Mr B.
Prasada Rao.
He added that racketeers sometimes threw shipments of currency over the fence in the Bangladesh border when Border Security Force guards were away. “The smugglers reach the city from Kolkata by train,” he said. It is believed that the racketeers take the help of illegal immigrants from Karimnagar, East and West Godavari districts, Nizamabad and Kadapa to smuggle in fake currency on the air route. They are wrapped in carbon papers so as not to be detected by X-ray machines at airports.
In August 2007, police seized counterfeit currency of Rs 2.36 crore and arrested a UAE national and three others from the city. But a kingpin of the racket, Kamlesh, based in Hong Kong , is still absconding.
This consignment was shipped into the country from Karachi in April 2007.
The first shipment arrived in Gujarat. It was the Gujarat police who informed the city police of the Hyderabad link.
According to the police, this was a dry run by the ISI to establish a chain through which fake notes would be brought into Mandvi from Pakistan and spread to different places.
Police are also probing the fake currency angle in the Lumbini and Gokul Chat blasts which occurred in the city soon after the busting of the huge racket.

Film stars Jeevitha and Rajashekar seek gunmen

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Film actress Jee vitha and her actor husband Rajasekhar have asked police to provide them with more personal security guards.
In a letter to the police commissioner, Mr B. Prasada Rao, Ms Jeevitha said her family was feeling threatened after a series of incidents including a burglary.
The couple was given two security guards after the alleged attack by Chiranjeevi fans in January 2008, following a comment by Mr Rajasekhar on the former’s political entry. They were withdrawn after the security review committee found that there was no longer any threat to the couple.
“Ms Jeevitha has asked for security saying they are still facing a threat, but did not specify any group or persons,” said the joint commissioner of police (Security), Mr Kripananda Tripathi Ujela. He added that police could provide one guard at a time if the couple agreed to pay for his services.
Mr Rajasekhar, his wife and their daughters suffered minor injuries and the windowpane of their car was smashed in the assault by ‘Chiranjeevi fans’ at Punjagutta when they were returning home from Bhimavaram in West Godavari district. The fans were allegedly irked by Rajasekhar’s comment that Chiranjeevi has no political experience. Following the attack, Chiranjeevi visited their house and apologised.
Punjagutta police also registered a case against the attackers and arrested them.
However, in the last week of May, burglars entered Rajasekhar’s office at Jubilee Hills and stole cash and electronic goods. The script of their new movie was also damaged and this raised suspicions.

Police torture- Cops and Criminals play Tom and Jerry

By U Sudhakar Reddy

Antics of some regular suspects who are brought to police stations for interrogation are frustrating cops to no end.
Though it is common for suspects to be nervous, there has been a role reversal in these cases. It is the cops who are nervous.
For many suspects inflict injuries on themselves soon after they reach the police stations and then file complaints with human rights commissions and courts alleging torture.
One Akbar Mohammed of Bhavaninagar, arrested in connection with assaults, shocked cops by reportedly breaking his head with a glass as soon as he reached the station. Later, he filed cases accusing the police of harassing him.
A habitual chain snatcher, Hasan Barak Ba of Chandrayanagutta, enacts a suicide drama whenever he is arrested. Then he files complaints. Caught in the legal muddle, cops forgot all about recovering the stolen ornaments.
With no other go, police has finally decided to videograph interrogations of top suspects to prove that they are not using any thirddegree methods.
The city police commissioner, Mr B. Prasada Rao, has supplied digital video cameras and still cameras to all police stations and Task Force and Central Crime Station offices in the city to score one over the wily criminals.
Nowadays, cops switch on the video cameras immediately after the troublesome suspects are brought to the station. If they try to hurt themselves, the cops have visual evidence to present to the courts.
This is not to say that third-degree methods are not used by the police.
The cops in the state have perfected the roller treatment (using pestle or wooden log), rocket ekkinchadam (hoisting a person with ropes) and beating on the legs and hands.
In roller treatment the suspect is held down on the floor and a wooden log or pestle (musal) is laid across the legs.
Two cops sit on each side and roll it backwards and forwards crushing the muscles.
After human rights activists raised hell over custodial torture, cops started beating up suspects on the palms of the hand and soles of the feet with a ‘whip’ made of vehicle tyres. The advantage here is the there would be no bruises to show.
And there is no guarantee that the video cameras will put an end to it. After all, you can switch them off and take up the whip.

Chiru ratham for election campaign

By U Sudhakar Reddy

The ratham that is expected to take superstar Chiranjeevi to the portals of power is being fabricated at the workshop of Real Cars in Jeedimetla.
It is an Eicher van that is metamorphosing into a prachara ratham, for Chiranjeevi, who is all set to launch a political party.
Sources in the police department said the power ratham was being spruced up with an air-conditioned room with sleeping facilities to enable the actor to travel long distances.
The fabrication work of the power ratham is almost over.
The workers of the vehicle are giving it the finishing touches. The prachara ratham for superstar Chiranjeevi will roll out in a few days.
Though the Real Cars workshop usually takes up fabrication of bullet-proof vehicles, the police source said Chiranjeevi’s prachara ratham is not likely to be fortified in that manner.
“As there is no huge threat perception to Chiranjeevi it is unlikely that he would go for a bullet-proof vehicle,” said the police officer.
“But the possibility cannot be dismissed as Real Cars usually takes up such type of work,” the senior police officer said.
As such, no permission is required for owning a bullet proof car as the home department is yet to come out with clear guidelines on this.
The Legislative Council member, Mr Kasani Gnaneswar, and the media baron, Mr Ramoji Rao, have made their cars bullet proof.
Though the superstar of Tollywood does not face any major threats, the Intelligence Security Wing is not taking any chances and has provided personal security officers to him.

AP cops opt for less pay

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Hunting down armed Maoists in jungles is surely more risky and dangerous than netting corrupt officials using decoys. A stray bullet can even end your life. But senior IPS officers and even the constabulary prefers the former job to the latter.
They would even manage traffic in a busy street than be shifted to the Anti-Corruption Bureau though it pays 30 per cent more than routine jobs. Three out of the six joint director posts in ACB are lying vacant and there are no takers for them.
An additional director post, several posts of inspectors and lower level officers are also lying vacant.
Insiders say that there are not many officers who want to take up these posts because they are not “lucrative” enough (the pay hike notwithstanding). Also, the ACB is widely seen as a dumping yard where officers who are not in the good books of political bosses are kept in suspended animation. Cops would rather prefer jobs in the two antiMaoist forces, the Special Intelligence Branch and Grey Hounds.
Here they get 60 to 80 per cent more pay apart from abundant “extra funds”.
Right now three superinten dents of police, Ms Charu Sinha, Mr Sampath Kumar and Mr Srinivas are working as joint directors of ACB.
Ms Charu Sinha, who was doing a good job at Mahbubnagar, was shifted to ACB as some bigwigs in the government didn’t like what she was doing.
In ACB one post is lying vacant for several months and another went vacant after the joint director, Mr Ravi Varma, was “rescued” by the DGP, Mr S.S.P.
Yadav, and posted as West Zone deputy commissioner of police.
Mr Yadav was director general of ACB prior to Mr R.R. Girish Kumar and knew its troubles firsthand.
The other post of joint director fell vacant after Mr Ravi Shankar was promoted as DIG and posted as additional director in ACB itself.
At present, three joint directors are doing the job of six directors in ACB.
Most cops are uninterested in ACB postings since no big cash incentives are given to them even when they nab a corrupt official.
The authorities do not even give them a pat on the back.
On the other hand, agencies such as SIB and Greyhounds get huge cash incentives for key captures and “encounters”. Insiders say that even local informers are sometimes paid in lakhs of rupees.

Leopards caught and killed in Urban jungles

By U Sudhakar Reddy

With humans in vading and capturing their habitats to erect their highrises, big cats are entering towns and cities as if to demand their due.
Panthers once roamed in the Hitec city area of Madhapur, but they lost their habitat after the scrub jungle was levelled for erecting a cyber city.
Similarly, scrub jungles in the fringes of Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and other urban areas were also destroyed for construction.
These scrub jungles were the connecting links (marginal habitats) between the thick forest and human habitations. For long years, the borders were inviolate.
But that is no longer the case. The destruction of its habitat, lack of prey and water scarcity has forced many panthers to stray into cities and towns in recent times.
In 2008, there were 22 incidents of panthers straying into cities, towns and villages. There were only 13 such incidents in 2006.
Panthers have been spotted everywhere — near temples, railway stations, prisons, dumping yards, residential colonies and industrial units.
Big cats were spotted many times in the the ONGC base complex spread over around 200 acres in Rajahmundry. Some of them were caught and released in Maredumilli forests of Rampachodavaram agency.
On March 25, another panther was spotted at the Central Prison in Rajahmundry and it was trapped in a bathroom by a resident of Lalitanagar Colony, a few kilometres away from the prison.
In Visakapatnam, panthers were sighted at Kapulauppada and Marikavalasa on the Vizag-Bhimili Road close to the beach between November 2007 and January 2008.
Another panther which strayed into fields near Samalkota was killed by panic-stricken villagers armed with sticks and sharp weapons before forest officials arrived.
“They were all young panthers in search of a new territory after losing their habitat,” said a forest official.
The situation has become so alarming that top officials of the wildlife department have asked all divisional forest officers to keep traps ready to deal with emergencies.
Officials in Visakhapatnam, Nizamabad and East Godavari districts were asked to be ready with three to four traps at all times.
Lower rung employees are also being trained on how to trap and tranqulise a panther. “We have given training to beat officers and section officers on how to catch the cats,” said the deputy conservator of forest (Wild Life), Mr B. Varaprasad.
“We are spending Rs 50 lakh on contingency measures.” Forest officials could rescue only eight of the pan thers which entered human habitations.
There have been rare instances of panthers attack ing humans. In Vishakapatnam, a panther attacked a female worker and dragged her to distance before she was rescued by other labourers near the IT Park at Kapulaupada on January 24. Another labourer was also attacked by a panther two weeks earlier in the same spot.

(With Patnaik and Sampath)

Security withdrawn for Tennis Star Sania Mirza

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Hyderabad, May 31: The city police has withdrawn the two gunmen deputed to give security cover to tennis star, Ms Sania Mirza, after she failed to pay the user fee of more than Rs 2 lakh. Other VIPs including film star, Dr Rajashekhar, and former Wakf Board chairperson and Telugu Desam leader, Mr Mohammed Saleem, also lost their gunmen since the security review committee felt they no longer faced threats.
However, superstar, Chiranjeevi, was allowed to retain his gunman as he was paying the user fee. In Ms Mirza’s case, there was disagreement among the top police officers on whether the gunmen should be withdrawn over the issue of pending user fee. While some senior cops felt that Ms Mirza should be provided security on the state’s expense since she was a prized champ, others felt that she ought to pay.
The ‘user fee’ lobby carried the day and police issued notices to Ms Mirza asking her to pay the arrears. The joint commissioner of police (security), Mr Kripanand Tripathi Ujala, said notices would be issued again to the tennis star to collect the arrears. "The review commit didn’t recommend her case stating that there is no threat perception to her now," said Ujala.
Ms Mirza was given gunmen for more than nine months and she was meant to pay Rs 25,000 per month. The City Security Wing is providing security to 143 persons. In all, 16 VIPs, mostly film stars, politicians and media barons, are paying user fee for the gunmen.
"Personal security officers are provided only on the basis of genuine threat," said Mr Ujala. "We are also reviewing the threat perception from time to time." Police sources added that the VIPs had to pay a fee of Rs 12,000 for each gunman. "This is equal to a salary of a constable rank officer," said the source.
However, Mr Saleem objected to his security cover being withdrawn and said that he still needed it. "I am a businessman and politician," he said. "I have been paying the user fee on time regularly."

Raj Bhavan gets High Security suites for PM and President

By Udumula Sudhakar Reddy

Exclusive high security suites for the President, Prime Minister and Vice President are being built in the Raj Bhavan guest house at a cost of Rs 3 crore.
They are being designed in such a way that snipers won’t be able to target the occupants from nearby high-rises. The Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), Mr Aravinda Rao, has cleared the construction in Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor, Mr N.D. Tiwari.
Lack of fortified places to put up visiting VVIPs has always troubled the police and the new suites will solve this problem.
The state government has released Rs 3 crore for building the suites and the secretary to the Governor has requested administrative sanction for taking up construction worth Rs 16.22 crore in the Raj Bhavan premises.
Earlier, the government had sanctioned Rs.4.88 crore for construction of an administrative block, officers’ residential complex, and new blocks for drivers.
A senior police officer said that there were initially some concerns about whether the suites of VVIPs could be targeted by snipers. “Later, the design was changed to prevent such attacks,” he said.
The Raj Bhavan is spread over 21.5 acres and is the first big halt for visiting VVIPs. It is also a heritage structure constructed in the 1930s. One of the earlier occupants of the building was Sir Akbar Hydari, the Prime Minister of the Nizam, from 1936 to 1941.
But he stayed here for a short period and shifted to an adjacent building which is now known as Dilkusha Guest House.

UN peacekeeping dollar salaries attract cops

By U Sudhakar Reddy

Do all cops going out to war zones abroad as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force spurred by the motto to serve?
The buzz is that they make huge bucks and taxfree ‘white’ money. Many of them, who are in loop line posts, opt to go out on United Nations missions to get paid in dollars.
In Kosovo, a peacekeeping officer is paid $92 a day and in Sudan and East Timor around $120. On an average, an officer earns $3,000 a month and can take home $2,000. The salary paid is regardless of the ranks.
Hence, IPS officials, deputy superintendents and inspectors of police also visit war-ridden zones to work for a few years.
Interestingly, some of them fail to make it as they flunk the test for English ability. Police officials, who stay in the loop line for years, are opting to move out to pursue higher studies.
For example, Ms Anjana Sinha, deputy inspector general of police, Special Protection Force, was in the loop line in the Congress regime.
Now, she has enrolled for a two-year postgraduate programme in public policy and management at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Bangalore. The cost of the domestic component of the programme, which is around Rs 2.5 lakh, will be borne by the home ministry and the state government will meet other costs.
It all went wrong for Ms Sinha when she was the west zone deputy commissioner of police.
She was involved in a controversy over nonsurrender, on record, of the seized weapons of the aides of the slain Telugu Desam leader, Paritala Ravi.
Since then she has been in loop line posts such as the Women Protection Cell, the Andhra Pradesh Police Academy and the Special Protection Force.
Meanwhile, the murder case, which dented the image of the state police, still haunts them though they managed to arrest a suspect, ‘Laddu’. Did cops lay hands on the wrong man in the Ayesha Meera murder case?
However, they, are divided over his arrest as some officers believe that the Vijayawada police laid their hands on the wrong man by relying on ‘footprint’ evidence.
Under pressure and to ward off criticism, the police resorted to the arrest of Laddu though the DNA fingerprinting, handwriting and a lie detector test showed that he was not the killer.
The Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory experts told the Vijayawada police that they were not sure that the footprint could be taken as strong evidence to nail him.
The Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory report on footprint, analysed from a photograph, said there could be similarity in the deformity of a toe.
A B.Pharma student, Ayesha Meera was killed in her hostel at Ibrahimpatnam in Vijayawada a few months ago.
The arrest took place after the new commissioner of police, Mr K.V. Rajendranath Reddy, took over from Mr C.V. Anand. Some of the officers of the Crime Investigation Department team, who took part in the investigation, are not satisfied with the manner in which the arrest took place.
Meanwhile, Laddu and his family members claim that they are innocent.

Credit card scamsters used Orkut

By U. SUDHAKAR REDDY
Hyderabad, May 18: An inter-state gang operating from Mumbai and Visakhapatnam used the social networking website Orkut to buy airline tickets with stolen credit card data.
The tickets were sold at a discount to unsuspecting buyers, mostly employees of the Vizag and Bokaro steel plants who were availing their leave travel concession.
The Hyderabad police's central crime station busted the gang following a complaint from a Hyderabad-based person who found that the gang had fraudulently used his credit card data to purchase the tickets. The police arrested one Umapathi Thakur alias Vikas Kumar alias Praveen, 22, of Jharkhand, from Visakhapatnam, saying that he was a key operative. The Mumbai-based scamsters who booked the tickets with stolen credit card data are still at large.
Umapathi’s office, Ganga Ticket Solutions, was located near the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
The scam started unravelling when one Ravinder Reddy of Kalyannagar in Dilshuknagar received an SMS from ICICI Bank on May 6 stating that he had purchased an air ticket from Kolkata to Guwahati.
Mr Reddy, who had done no such thing, immediately approached the police, who booked a complaint and began investigations.
Inspector J. Anyonya, who is investigating the case, told this newspaper: "This is a credit card fraud where details are stolen by hacking online websites or by collecting details from places where the card was used."
"Umapathi has confessed that he had done up to 60 transactions worth lakhs of rupees with the aid of other accused based in Mumbai," Mr Anyonya said. Mr Ravinder Reddy was charged about Rs 43,000 for the air tickets he didn't buy.
The police said the gang stole the credit card data including its 16-digit number, its three- or four- digit CVV (credit verification value) and expiry date.
CVV is an anti-fraud security feature to verify that the credit card is in possession of its genuine owner. The account number, CVV and expiry date are required to complete a transaction.
"The data is stolen usually at petrol pumps, shopping complexes and bars and restaurants where the customers are not alert," said a police official said. "Hackers steal the data from unsafe websites or at Internet cafes."
In this case the scamsters in Mumbai stole the credit card data and used them to buy airline tickets. Umapathi brought in the customers.
"We identified the customers who were flying with the air tickets purchased fraudulently and detained them. They revealed that they got the tickets from Umapathi's Ganga Ticket Solutions," Mr Anyonya said. "His arrest lead to the unearthing of the scam."
"Those who purchased the tickets are innocent. Umapathi used to lure them by offering them tickets at discounted rates," Mr Anyonya said. The customers are given the PNR number and an e-ticket so they do not suspect anything amiss.
The police offered the following advice to prevent credit card fraud:
At outlets where you use the credit card, watch as your card is swiped.
Avoid using credit or debit cards at cybercafes.
Don’t shop online on unprotected websites.
Never use the card on pornography sites.
If the bank offers SMS alerts for credit and debit card transactions, subscribe to it.
Make sure your credit card company has your current phone number so they can call you if they see a suspicious pattern of transactions.
Don't use a debit card over the Internet. Your credit card fraud liability is limited but debit card fraud could drain your account.
Keep track of transactions. You should remember at least the last five transactions. Also check the monthly statements.
Keep receipts and check your credit card statement against them.
Lodge a police complaint and inform the bank if you suspect fraud.

Andhra Explosives used in Blasts

By U. SUDHAKAR REDDY
Hyderabad, Aug. 27: A licensed dealer who bought a huge consignment of explosives from Amin Explosives Ltd at Nagpur has come under the scanner of the Special Investigation Team probing Saturday's twin explosions, which killed 41 people in Hyderabad.
Rajasree Explosives of Bhongir, about 50 km from here, had bought "Neo Gel 90", a slurry of ammonium nitrate, from the Nagpur firm. This is the same explosive material used in Saturday's bombings.
Contacted over the phone, Nagpur commissioner of police Satyapal Singh told this correspondent: "Two consignments of Neo Gel of around nine tonnes were sent to Rajasree Chemicals and Balaji Enterprises since July this year from Amin Explosives."
Investigations by this newspaper revealed the police had, prior to the blasts, written to the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (Peso) to cancel the licence of Rajasree Explosives, which had been booked in previous cases of violation of rules. No action has so far been taken.
Bhongir deputy superintendent of police V.V. Narasinga Rao said, "In the past one year we wrote to the district collector through superintendents of police thrice asking to cancel the licence of Rajasree Explosives as it was found violating rules. We were told that the collectorate wrote to Peso asking it to take action. So far no action has been taken."
He added, "When we inspected the book balance on explosive sales of Rajasree Explosives at Bhongir, we found that there was fudging of figures. They said they sold 1,500 kg of explosives out of 2,000 kg in stock, but they also said that 2,000 kg was still available."
"It was termed a clerical mistake.A case was registered at Bhongir police station. They got bail the same day after execution of arrest," Mr Narasinga Rao said.
Asked about the recommendation to cancel the firm's licence, Nalgonda district collector Purushottam Reddy said, "We received the communication from the police and wrote to Peso to cancel the licence. We withdrew the NOC a few months ago. As this issue has propped again, we will look into it and see that action is taken."
Peso deputy chief controller A.V. Subba Rao said, "We wrote to the central office at Nagpur to cancel the licence of Rajasree Explosives. The order has to come from Nagpur."
"The collector and the police department can cancel the no-objection certificate if the company is found violating rules," Mr Subba Rao said.
Another firm, owned by relatives of the proprietors of Rajasree Explosives in Karimnagar, had its licence withdrawn by the collector, Mr Subba Rao said.
Peso officials said that Balaji Enterprises at Karimnagar was owned by Rajasree Explosives.
The name of Rajasree Explosives had come up in two cases of seizure of 100 kg of slurry at Vanasthalipuram and Raidurg. But the company was found not at fault.
Vanasthalipuram police inspector Chandrashekar said, "We arrested one M. Ranga Reddy of Vanasthalipuram with explosives on June 29. Ranga Reddy was supposed to use the explosives at a construction site situated near Hitech City. Ranga Reddy had taken the explosives for a licensed user but was trying to sell them to quarries and crushing units. In the investigation we found that the transaction from Rajasree Explosives to the licensed user was legal."
In 2006, after an accident under the limits of Ramanatham police station limits in Tamil Nadu, the police found slurry and a safety fuse from a Tata Sumo.
While tracking the origin of the explosives a police team from Tamil Nadu visited Gautami Explosives Ltd, Saarajpet, in Aleru mandal near Bhongir. Gautami Explosives had sold the slurry to Rajasree Explosives at Bhongir. In turn, Rajasree Explosives had sold it to KE Stores of Calicut, Kerala. "The consignment was diverted from Kerala to Tamil Nadu," an official said.
Bhongir DSP Narsinga Rao said, "The Tamil Nadu police searched Gautami Explosives and found the records legal. So no action was taken."
Rajasree Explosives proprietor Raj Kumar said, "Balaji Enterprises, owned by my brother Vijay Kumar, bought the explosives from Amin. This took place before March. After March there has been no transaction. And Rajasree Explosives did not have any transaction with Amin this year. I don't know how the name of Rajasree Explosives came up."
Mr Raj Kumar said, "The consignment was three to four tonnes and we sold them in Karnataka, Orissa, and Anakapalle, near Visakhapatnam. All are legal transactions. We haven't sold explosives to illegal users."
"The police contacted us and we gave them details. I don't know from where the terrorists got the explosives, from Karnataka or Maharashtra," Mr Raj Kumar said, adding, "I can't divulge details of what the police asked me."
"The consignment also went to Chirag, Karnataka, as per our information. We are trying to find out from Amin Explosives why they mentioned our name. It can be an attempt to divert attention," he said.
Asked about the police asking that his licence be cancelled, Mr Raj Kumar said, "The police didn't consider the purchase bills but were going by the record and booked a case. We have taken up a legal battle. Since the (police) case was not proved, our licence was not cancelled. It is unfortunate that our name is figuring in these incidents," Mr Raj Kumar said. "In the Vanasthalipuram case, too, we are in no way concerned and we sold only to legal dealers," he added.
A Peso official said, "Slurry may have leaked from end users like quarries or crushing units. It could even be from irrigation contractors as well as the Singareni collieries. Usually the manufacture and licensed seller will not resort to illegal sales."
The responsibility of monitoring the sale of explosives to dealers, sub-dealers and end users, all of whom are required to have a licence and maintain detailed records, lies with the police, said a Peso employee.