Bengaluru : Whitefield Police introduce 'Blind Box' to fight illegal activities
BENGALURU : Want to report something illegal, but scared to reveal your identity? The Whitefield police have a solution: a “blind box”. All you have to do now is write down what you want to report to the police and drop it in the box.
The Whitefield police, who celebrated Independence Day on the theme ‘freedom from drugs,’ have set up the blind box to enable people to tip them off anonymously.
Abdul Ahad, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Whitefield, who launched the campaign on Wednesday, put up one such box at the Forum Neighbourhood Mall. “The idea is to help people who want to give information about illegal activities anonymously,” he said.
“There are many residents who know about illegal activities in their vicinities, but are scared to inform the police, fearing their identity would be compromised. If people have to complain via phone or email, their names or numbers will be revealed. The blind box will not only help such people, but will also help the police crack down on illegal activities,” he added.
The Whitefield division has reported a substantial number of drug abuse cases recently. This is not only affecting the young generation, but is also posing a threat to the law and order situation, which needs to be redressed effectively, Mr. Ahad said.
The blind box will be taken to the police station every week, and information received through anonymous letters will be sorted and action taken, the police said. The larger idea is to facilitate greater public-police cooperation and contain the drug menace.
The police at the jurisdictional level have also started coordinating with schools, colleges, commercial establishments, and private company representatives to exchange information and contain the menace.
The Whitefield police are also planning to extend the blind box facility to other stations under their jurisdiction soon.
courtesy: thehindu.com
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SC refuses to entertain plea to impose ban on social media usage for children below 13 years
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea seeking to impose a statutory prohibition on social media usage for children below 13 years.
"It is a policy matter. You ask Parliament to enact the law," a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih told the counsel appearing for the petitioner.
"We are not inclined to entertain the present petition in as much as the relief sought is within the domain of policy," the bench said.
While disposing of the plea, it granted liberty to the petitioner to make a representation to the authority.
The bench said if such a representation was made, the same be considered in accordance with law within eight weeks.
The plea, filed by Zep Foundation, sought directions to the Centre and others to mandate the introduction of robust age verification system, such as biometric authentication, to regulate children's access to social media platforms.
The petition, filed through advocate Mohini Priya, also sought to implement strict penalties for social media platforms failing to comply with children protection regulations.
