Varanasi: To end the digital network and influence of the criminals and gangs, a special campaign, ‘Operation Vajrapat,’ was conducted in all three districts of the Varanasi range under the direction of Deputy Inspector General of Police, Varanasi Range, Vaibhav Krishna.The Operation Vajrapat is aimed at ending the dominance of criminals in the digital space. All information available on social media platforms-Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X-was examined.DIG Range said that this was digital patrolling by police. The police have also registered FIRs against the identified criminals and their supporters.This was the first major action of the police on criminals’ presence on social media. The main objective was to completely neutralise the digital mechanism of criminals, so that they cannot create fear in society or glorify their crimes.The campaign was conducted in three phases. In the first phase of the campaign, the cyber team identified 1,080 criminals of 165 gangs. After this, a dossier of their criminal history, activities, and social media posts was prepared. In the second phase, the profiles on which display of weapons, threats, or content promoting crime was found were removed after technical examination.In Ghazipur, the highest number of 250 objectionable profiles were removed followed by Jaunpur with removal of 192 criminal profiles and in Chandauli, 112 profiles were deleted or blocked after technical examination.Now, in the third phase, along with examining financial records, the financial source will be traced, and then the process of seizure under legal action will be carried out.Under the first phase, criminals were also called along with their guardians and given a warning. At the second level, FIRs were registered against those who carried out extortion, threats, and display of weapons.The DIG Range said that to maintain the continuity and effectiveness of Operation Vajrapat campaign, strict instructions have been given to officials at the police station, circle, and district level for regular monitoring and time-bound action. The progress of the campaign is being continuously reviewed by senior officials so that the cyber space can be kept safe and crime-free in the future as well.
