Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant has assured citizens of their privacy following reports of patrolling police personnel stopping people at random and checking their mobile phones.
Strict action will be taken against those police personnel who do this, he said on Twitter. “@BlrCityPolice doesn’t approve of taking over the mobile phone of anyone under any pretext. We strongly disapprove of any such act,” he tweeted.
In the event of such an incident occurring, citizens can submit the location and time of the incident, the three-digit Hoysala number and vehicle number. Mr. Pant was responding to media reports and queries from the public during an interactive session on Twitter on Saturday.
Several citizens complained of patrolling police stopping them on the pretext of random checks, seizing their phones and checking their messages and contacts.
Responding to this, Mr. Pant said, “Without obtaining permission, no police official must inspect mobile phones. If such instances are seen happening, bring them to my attention,” he said.
A senior police officer on condition of anonymity said that there could have been stray incidents owing to cases of mistaken identity. “We have launched a special drive on drug peddling cases. The police have been instructed to keep a watch on the peddlers and consumers to break the network,” said the officer.
