KASARGOD: The Rajapuram police who detained a person for possessing liquor more than the permitted limit stumbled on a WhatsApp group that was tracking their movements. Titled as ‘Family’, the group was tracking the police vehicles of Rajapuram and Panathur stations. The members of the WhatsApp group were found to be persons involved in bootlegging, drug peddling and banned online lottery.
Based on the orders of district police superintendent Vijaya Bharath Reddy, the police took out combing operations in their limits. The police team detained an individual and scanned his mobile phone which led to this WhatsApp Group. Police have booked 19 persons in this regard. The police are also trying to get information about the deleted messages in this group.
Rajapuram region is notorious for bootlegging as the liquor smuggled from Karnataka enters through the borders. There is also the soil smuggling mafia operating in the region. Vijaya Bharath Reddy said that he wasn’t surprised by this WhatsApp group because he has seen bigger groups while he was posted in Malappuram district where sand smuggling was rampant.