conmen pull a smart one on cops depsite being in jail

Prisoners con cops into recharging cellphones

Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16
“Jaspal Singh speaking. Please speak to DIG Sahib.” A Station House Officer receives a call. A few seconds later, a man with a deep voice and an authoritative tone identifies himself as DIG Farooqui.

He goes on to narrate how a gang of four drug smugglers, busted recently, had smuggled into the country 10 kg of heroin and four mousers. He says two of them are hiding in a house near the Sector 3 police station and instructs the SHO to get more details from the "informer" sitting with him.

The police official later receives a call from the "informer" who requests that the phone be recharged. On finding the incoming call facility on the number barred, the SHO calls up MF Farooqui, DIG, BSF. The latter says he has not made any such call. He asks the intelligence wing to trace the caller and is informed that the call was made from a jail in Kapurthala district.

Several high-ranked officials in the region and Uttar Pradesh have been reportedly conned by prisoners into getting their phones recharged in this fashion. Among them is a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh. The suspects are yet to be questioned.

Farooqui initially declined to comment on the issue. He later said: “My name was probably used because I often brief the media on the recovery of drugs from across the border. I have sought a thorough investigation into the matter. They (criminals) pose a threat to national security.”

Rajpal Meena, Additional DGP, Prisons, said: “ We have not received any complaint regarding the matter. I wonder how the policemen can be so sure that the calls were made from inside a jail. We don’t claim that cellphones can't be used by inmates. But we could have nabbed them, if we were informed about the incident.”

The intelligence official who traced the calls refused to comment.

"Please talk to DIG Farooqui," is all he said. EOM

key words : Conmen, crime, criminals, cops, fake calls, BSF, phone recharge, DIG Farooqui, Intelligence agencies

first published link :http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140617/punjab.htm#14