Police issues advisory on suspicious ISD calls to J&K people
STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: The elite National Security Guard commandos on Thursday carried out an area domination and security sanitisation exercise in Lal Chowk area of the city here ahead of the G20 summit next week, officials said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF personnel accompanied a posse of NSG personnel during the exercise, they added.
The security personnel checked hotels at Lal Chowk, spoke to their owners and took some information from them, they said.
Officials said similar exercises will be carried out in the run up to the main G20 event from May 22-24.
Meanwhile, the Marine Commandos or MARCOS carried out the sanitisation exercise in the famous Dal Lake near the SKICC here the venue of the G20 meet.
The security personnel searched various houseboats and went around the water body in ‘shikaras’.
The officials said the exercise was part of the security drill ahead of the G-20 event.
Meanwhile, scores of individuals in Jammu and Kashmir receiving calls and WhatsApp messages from suspicious international mobile numbers in a bid to spread rumours about upcoming G20 events has emerged as the latest security challenge in the Union territory.
The local police has issued an advisory cautioning the public against these numbers and urging them to remain vigilant.
One such call from a suspicious number stated, “G20 delegates Kashmir is not India. The Modi regime is ill. G20 members boycott it in Srinagar — save Kashmir Pandits.”
Similar messages are being circulated on WhatsApp, attempting to incite trouble and instigate a boycott of the G20 event.
The Jammu police had on Wednesday identified the suspicious numbers as +44 7520 693559, +447418343648, and +44 7520 693134, and warned the general public to exercise caution and refrain from responding to any communication from these or other ISD numbers. These numbers are responsible for spreading anti-national messages and propaganda, they said.
“These numbers are spreading anti-national messages and propaganda, and the public should remain fully alert towards these attempts and not respond to any of such suspicious calls,” a police officer said. He emphasised the importance of remaining fully alert and advised individuals to report any grievances or queries related to the matter to the cyber police station, nearby police stations, or police posts. Moreover, if a person has any grievance or query related to the matter, the cyber police station or any nearby police station or police post can be contacted, the statement added.