Govt asks retailers not to insist on mobile number of customers for providing services
New Delhi (PTI): The Consumer Affairs Ministry has issued an advisory directing retailers not to insist on the personal contact details of customers for delivering certain services, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said on Tuesday.
The advisory has been issued following several consumer complaints. Customers have complained about many retailers not providing them services if they refuse to share their contact number, he said.
"Sellers say they cannot generate the bill until personal contact details are provided. This is an unfair and restrictive trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act and there is no rationality behind collecting the information," the Secretary told reporters.
There is also a privacy concern. Therefore, an advisory has been issued to the retail industry and industry chambers CII and FICCI to address this issue in the interest of consumers, he said.
It is not mandatory in India for customers to furnish their mobile numbers to a retailer to generate a bill. However, customers are put in an awkward situation by retailers insisting on a number to conclude transactions. Most of the time, customers are not given an option to opt out in many of these situations.
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Woman poses as man to loot jewellery of Rs 1.5 crore from relative's house; arrested
Palghar (PTI): A 27-year-old woman disguised as a man to gain entry into the residence of her sister's father-in-law and robbed jewellery of more than Rs 1.5 crore from the house in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Wednesday.
The incident took place at Manickpur in Vasai area on Monday afternoon and the woman was apprehended from Navsari in Gujarat the same night, they said.
The accused, dressed up as a man, came to the house of her sister's 66-year-old father-in-law, who lived alone, under the pretext of wanting to see it for some deal.
After entering the house, the accused took the elderly man to the toilet on the pretext of checking it, locked him inside and fled with 1.4 kg of gold ornaments and 2.3 kg of silver items, collectively valued at Rs 1,50,84,050, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madan Ballal said.
Based on the victim's complaint, an FIR was registered the same day under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for theft, robbery and wrongful confinement, and the police examined 75 to 80 CCTV footages, he said.
"We came across a footage showing a man carrying the stolen items and placing them somewhere before disappearing from sight, after which a woman collected them," the official said.
Along with technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, the investigators received a tip that a relative of the victim in Gujarat could be involved in the crime.
Acting swiftly, a crime branch team from here, with the assistance of the Navsari police, apprehended the woman, identified as Jyoti Mohan Bhanushali, from Gujarat late Monday night, Ballal said.
"During interrogation, she confessed to hatching the plan herself. Disguised as a man, she visited the house of her sister's father-in-law, knowing he lived alone, and carried out the robbery," the official said.
The police have recovered all the stolen items, he said, adding further probe was on into the case.
