Hyderabad, Dec 29 (PTI) Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Jitender on Sunday once again warned the outlawed CPI (Maoists) to stay out of the state, emphasising that any further provocation would prompt the police to take action to ensure public safety.

Except for a few incidents, law and order in 2024 have been effectively maintained in the state, with strong measures taken against violent crimes, Maoist activities, and communal and terrorist outfits, the DGP said during the annual press conference here.

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On the Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) front, there have been no major issues, except for the killing of two innocent people by Naxals in Mulugu district in November, he said. Following this, the police launched a combing operation and restored normalcy, the DGP added.

"They (Maoists) engaged in criminal activity, killing two people under the guise of being police informers.We cannot tolerate such actions. Therefore, we had to launch an operation. We have warned them not to operate in Telangana. If they continue their activities, we will take necessary action, as the safety and security of Telangana's citizens is our priority," Jitender said.

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Seven Maoists, including a key leader with a Rs 20 lakh reward on his head, were killed in an exchange of fire with police in a forest area of Mulugu district on December 1.

The action followed after the Maoists were implicated in the killing of two men in a village in Mulugu, who were suspected of being police informers.

The Telangana Police chief further stated that the police successfully countered the CPI (Maoist)'s attempts to form small action teams and carry out offences in the state. This led to four exchanges of fire, neutralising 14 extremists and seizing 24 firearms across Telangana.

He said 85 extremists were arrested and 41 cadres of the CPI (Maoist) surrendered.

The DGP further said a total of 1,69,477 cases were reported up to November 2024 in the state as against 1,38,312 during (January to November 2023).

He stated that the Telangana government is prioritising the control of narcotics and aims to make the state a zero-drug-availability region. A total of 1,942 drug-related cases were registered, leading to the arrest of 4,682 individuals, with drugs worth approximately Rs 143 crore seized.

A total of 25,200 cybercrime cases were reported in 2024, up from about 17,600 in 2023, marking an increase of over 43 per cent. Jitender also mentioned that nearly Rs 180 crore was traced and refunded to victims, while another Rs 247 crore was frozen this year.

Rape cases have shown an upward trend, with nearly 2,950 cases reported this year. However, in most of these cases (99 per cent), the accused were known to the victims. Teenage relationships are becoming an increasing area of concern, the DGP added.

In response to a query about the status of the Red Corner Notice against some of the accused in the phone tapping case, the DGP said that the police have already initiated the process.

"It is with the CBI. These international processes take time. Having worked with the CBI, I know that in many cases, it can take years. The international process is not simple, as there are numerous guidelines and practices involved. Interpol follows several SOPs, and they will evaluate the case. It will take some time," he said.

Red Corner Notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

In August this year, the Hyderabad Police stated that it had approached the CBI to issue a Red Corner notice against two accused, including T Prabhakar Rao, the former chief of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) in Telangana, who is a key accused in the phone-tapping case.

The former SIB chief and another accused are currently absconding in the case and are believed to be in the US.

Four officials, including a suspended DSP of the SIB, two suspended Additional Superintendents of Police, and a former Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), have been arrested by the Hyderabad Police since March 13. They are accused of erasing intelligence data from various electronic gadgets, with the phone tapping allegedly occurring during the previous BRS regime.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)